


Tell me I'm real

by orphan_account



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Core 4 orientated fic, F/M, Friendship, Human Experimentation, I used the cast names too, Mad Scientists, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, just go with it, lockdown is getting to me, this fic is wild idk what to tag it, yanno the maze runner books its sort of like that but with riverdale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:13:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 56,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23545933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "Mr Andrews-" the voice crackles with impatience.Terror and confusion lights up the boy's expression. "I'm not Archie!" he yelled, trying to squirm his way out of the bonds that held him down. "Why...why are you calling me that? That's not my name!"A sudden ear piercing shriek sounds out. But the boy doesn't react to it. In fact, he doesn't do anything. He stops squirming, trying to escape, and just flops down on the bed like dead weight. His eyes were still open, staring at the ceiling, but there was nothing there.or: In a near distant future where Television companies would do anything to attract viewers, an illegal experiment takes place involving four young actors and a TV show.
Relationships: Archie Andrews & Jughead Jones, Archie Andrews/Betty Cooper/Veronica Lodge/Jughead Jones, Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 10
Kudos: 17





	1. Something's Gotta Give

**Author's Note:**

> MY VERY LAST REPOST. 
> 
> First published: May, 2017. 
> 
> this fic is fuckin wild, man. may 2017,,, not even the show had finished and i was writing this. imma say it's different, but different is good right lmao. This features the AU versions of the cast members sort of?? i mean, it's just their names. Though they have like multiple names, but i stuck with the cast names because i hate OC names with a passion lmao. (despite giving up and using them anyway) This is very early writing of mine so it sucks, so im gonna edit as i post, but yes. Enjoy! I hope!
> 
> There are 2 characters (or, i guess,, a bunch?) that never get mentioned again, at the start. I used them as exposition. Also at the time I was obsessed with Six Of Crows, and Gansy is and always will be my boi <3

* * *

**Translating...**

**Struct_group_info init_groups=[,usage=ATOMIC_UNIT :PARTICIPANTS:**

**nblocks=(gidsetsize=NGROUPS-GROUP_1-NGROUPS-PER-BLOCK:UNLOCK**

**APA, KJ**

**SPROUSE, COLE**

**REINHART, LILI**

**MENDES, CAMILA**

**[CHARACTERS_GROUP_1-COUNTERACT-FORWARD-UNLOCK:**

**ANDREWS, ARCHIE**

**COOPER, BETTY**

**JONES, JUGHEAD**

**LODGE, VERONICA]**

**LOADING….**

* * *

PROLOGUE.

Leon was typing feverishly, his skin shining with sweat as his light brown eyes crinkled around the edges, causing the skin on his forehead to seize up. Wrinkles appeared ridged in mingled lines as he leaned forward in his seat, taking a breath of anticipation. It definitely wasn't an attractive sight. Especially for Sammy, who sat next to him. Sammy was a woman in her early twenties with possibly the brightest smile he had ever seen. She had long dark hair she always kept in a neat ponytail and pale skin which seemed to contrast her hair perfectly. Although weirdly, Leon had never felt anything for her. And it bugged him every single day.

Sammy was like no woman he'd ever seen before and he especially didn't expect her to be a hacker. Not that he was sexist or anything, he was completely for equality among both genders, but Sammy seemed...well, she seemed better than this. When she had initially applied for the job, it hadn't been an easy process. First, there was the rather tedious and terrifying process of delving into the deep web. The thing was, Sammy wasn't like the others. She hadn't been an oblivious worker, or a curious student, Sammy was looking for a job in computer hacking.

She had no idea about Telenet, about the experiments, or even about the disappearances and cover-up's. But she did have the skills, after hacking into school records when she was barely a teenager, and changing her friends grades. It got her in trouble a lot, but she was a good student. With a damn good GPA. So, as long as she didn't commit serious crimes, she was left alone.

So, after leaving high school and dropping out of college after finding it harder than she expected, Sammy had dived into job searching, filtering out IT jobs. She didn't want boring nine to five, she wanted excitement. Real computer hacking, like on the films. But that wasn't reality, at least not in the mundane life she thought she knew. Computer hacking according to her, was either getting into Sony's systems and screwing up Multiplayer mode for its million players, or leaking Kylie Jenner's nude photos. In other words, hacking was seen as a crime against society.

Then she had came across an advert for RedHack. There was nothing there but seven or so paragraphs of numerical codes. Which was child's play for Sammy. After decoding the advert, she found it was a brief introduction to who they were and a list of coordinates. Of course she had followed them. She'd met Leon first. And he had showed her the video's.

Leon, who was, again, not sexist, had thought she'd run a mile. But it was a different kind of fear, a terror that morphed into a determination that drove her to want to save these people and stop the program at whatever cost.

Then came the hardest part. Cutting ties from family and friends, anyone close to her. She had grown up in a respected family with both parents being in high paid government jobs, so yes, leaving them washard. All it took was a note telling them she couldn't take it anymore, and a staged suicide. It was the only way she could keep them safe. If they thought she was dead. She missed them sometimes.

Showing her the leaked footage from inside Telenet had been a sort-of test to see if she had the guts. Which she had. After that, and a few incidents where she had showed her true colours, nobody messed with Sammy. Leon admired Sammy. She was barely twenty one and was putting her life on the line.

Well, Leon thought glumly. They all were.

This time they had found themselves in the Scottish Highlands. It had been London yesterday, and Bosnia the day before. It was crucial that they kept moving, never staying in the same place at the same time. Sammy watched as Leon continued to type at a rapid pace, his expression getting more and more intense as he attacked the keyboard. "I've got it." he said, momentarily twisting in his chair to meet Sammy's eyes. She didn't do anything and simply nodded in acknowledgement, straightening up in her own chair, her fingers coming down onto the keyboard, lightning fast.

Sammy was sprawled comfortably on an office chair with her feet up on the desk, like she was sitting at home on a casual Monday night. But the night was anything but casual. It might have looked it, what with the cosy sitting room they had managed to use as a base. It was part of an old Scottish mansion that had since been abandoned. The upper floors had all caved thanks to age, but the sitting rooms downstairs were still in pristine condition.

Now it was a waiting game. Leon took a deep breath and stared at his screen, at the little pop-up box that was flashing in the centre with one simple word in plain white text. He let out a startled laugh, shocking Sammy out of her silence. But she still didn't speak, only choosing to to type faster and more vigorously. But she kept hitting blank screens and encrypted messages in codes of gibberish her exhausted mind couldn't translate. Leon however, seemed to be getting somewhere. "Okay," he muttered, hovering his index over the enter key. "Let's see what you've got." Sammy turned her head to watch, her lips curling slightly into a smile. How could she not. He was the best they had.

Leon had been there from the beginning. He had been working in IT at Telenet Incorporated for two years after well-known Conglomerates had bound together after the downfall of Netflix and The CW Network, and created Telenet, an innovative network who prided themselves on brand new never seen before technology and putting it into their shows. All he did was look at a file he shouldn't have. Or rather, at illegal activity which violated all sorts of laws, including simple human rights. Before he knew it he had men knocking down his door at 4am. He'd been lucky to get away with his life, and he was what RedHack needed. An insider. Someone who had seen the files, who knew what the cooperation were doing. And who wanted to stop it.

Redhack was a hacking organisation, started by Mark Haverford. Leon still hasn't met him. Mark and the 'important' members were at the main US base, near Telenet, while Leon and a few others, basically the younger ones in RedHack, had been sent out to Scotland to try and take down the network through protected servers. The aim was to hack into the running programs.

Except it wasn't a computer they were hacking into. Oh, no. It was so much more than that.

For Leon it had started with a bunch of files. Just simple names, like you would expect to see in a doctor's surgery or school filing cabinet. Leon had been curious. He'd fixed the computer, which had apparently been having 'Network Connectivity Problems' (actually, whoever owned the dinosaur computer had managed to wipe the whole BIOS.) Leon had made a mental note to mention to his manager about maybe getting some recent machines. Like, maybe some macs?

All of the files were just lain out in front of him, accessible with a simple click. He wasn't due back in his office until after lunch, so, ignoring the bad feeling brewing in his stomach, he decided to go rooting around. He didn't expect to find anything, it was supposed to pass time. There was nothing on the desktop, only the galaxy background which hurt his eyes. He'd found himself clicking into MY COMPUTER and struck gold. A window popped up, listing various TV shows, copies of scripts and Edexcel documents with Market Research.

Leon had clicked on the TV SHOWS folder, his curiosity spiking as well a sliver of excitement sparking through him. He ended up staring at a list of Television shows owned by Telenet.

THE FLASH - FAIL (VARIABLE)

SUPERGIRL - FAIL (VARIABLE)

SUPERNATURAL - FAIL (VARIABLE)

iZOMBIE - FAIL (VARIABLE)

ARROW -FAIL (VARIABLE)

LEGENDS OF TOMORROW - PLACEBO

Each name was highlighted in red, which was weird. Leon's eyes crinkled with confusion. What had failed? Were they documenting viewing figures?

He browsed through the directory, hitting lists of what he expected. Cast lists, scripts and production schedules. Boring. He flicked back to the list of shows and continued to scroll, one show catching his eye. Though unlike the other show titles, this one was different. Instead of being highlighted red, it was a bright green.

RIVERDALE. It read, in bold block capitals. Followed by a break, then: SUCCESS.

That particular show grabbed his attention, because he was pretty damn sure that show had stopped airing after its pilot was rejected. He'd heard it had been an attempt at bringing the Archie comic book characters into modern day America, giving it a Twin Peaks type touch. He saw the cast had been announced, the writers, and the producers, and then….and then nothing. As far as he and the general public knew, the show Riverdale was dead.

He told himself not to click on the show, knowing it would be empty like the others. But something was nagging at him. Why would a dead show be included on a list of current ones? And why was it a success compared to the other shows? Shouldn't it be the opposite?

He couldn't help himself. Leon clicked into the folder, and found himself staring at a folder labelled: PROJECT CHRONOS and underneath that;

TEST ONE.

He clicked into it, his curiosity growing. His heart started to slam against his ribcage. The bad feeling continued to dance around in his stomach, making him suddenly really nauseous. Another window popped up. This time it was one folder simply labelled: PARTICIPANTS.

Now his hand was shaking as he found it moving on its own as it double clicked the cursor on the icon. He held his breath. Did he want to see this? His brain was on overdrive, tossing thoughts around relentlessly. The mouse cursor morphed into a blue swirl as the computer loaded into the folder. While he waited, Leon tried to ignore the shivers crawling up and down his spine. Since when does a TV show need participants?

The whole thing was creeping him out. Everything about it was sketchy. A dead TV show having various documents outlining what looked like some kind of experiment. What with 'TEST' and 'PARTICIPANTS'being key words.

Leon rubbed irritably at his jaw and squinted at the screen, fiddling with the machine's mouse, impatiently. "What are you hiding?" he muttered. Then scoffed at himself for sounding so Cliché.

Eventually it had loaded, and a box had popped up, prompting him for a password. He tried the normal ADMIN details he'd been supplied with, but another box appeared, saying the password was incorrect. "Shit," Leon grumbled. He wanted to know. It surprised even him how much he wanted to see what was going on. He had glanced at the clock idly, figuring he had around ten minutes till lunch was over. Then the employee's would be back, and he'd be shooed back to IT in the basement. If he wanted to know what was in those files, he'd have to act now.

Thankfully, whoever's computer it belonged to kept a handy notepad full of passwords and ciphers. Leon pulled it out of the unlocked draw, and couldn't help smirking to himself. Whoever this computer belonged to just granted him access to their entire registry. After flipping through pages and pages of notes and occasional what looked-like personal to-do's, Leon finally came across a page scattered with numerical codes and bolded subheadings.

The title of the page read, sketched in dark pencil and doodles. Leon scanned the list until he caught one in particular:

LOCKED DOCS/NEW AND IN-PROGRESS PROJECTS: LP097GHVD56

Leon memorised the code and retyped it into the prompt box. He held his breath, letting it go in a sigh of relief, when the box disappeared, and another window appeared, named PARTICIPANTS. Before he could stop himself he was clicking on the folder. This time a list of four names came up, sorted alphabetically. He went through them, clicking hesitantly on each one and ended up with four individual windows which seemed to be loading a video. After a quick glance at the clock, Leon leaned forward, his gaze stuck to the computer screen.

The video's all played at the same time, making him jump. The sound booming from the speakers came out all crackly and distorted. The boy looked around his late teens, early twenties. The voice sounded at least middle aged. Leon searched for another person in the room but there were only four identical white walls seemingly blending into the matching tiled floor.

What is this?! Leon's grasp tightened around the mouse, his knuckles whitening. This is a fucking TV network! What was with the shady locked files and what looked like medical footage?

"Subject one," a male's voice sounded. Except the voice didn't match the age of the kid on the bed. "A.A. 01." There was a pause before the voice continued, and Leon's stomach jumped into his throat when he noticed the figure on the bed move slightly. Followed by a disgruntled groan which sounded like the boy was in pain. Leon felt his chest start to tighten as he focused on the young boy. The other video's seemed to display a similar situation, except with different people. There were four of them, all young, the same age as the boy. Two boys and two girls who all seemed to be strapped to the same bed, all struggling, yet unable to cry or scream for help.

Leon paused the other video's, his gaze drawn to the first one with the boy in pain. He pulled his headphones out of his jacket pocket, plugged them into the old fashioned computer tower and corked them in his ears. All while nervously checking the time. If he heard anyone, he'd copy the files to his hard drive and make a run for it.

"Subject A.A. 01 has been implanted with the Vchip." The voice muttered through his headphones. Leon flinched as the voice droned in his ears this time. "He seems to be experiencing difficulty with using speech. We have not yet activated the chip as the corresponding transmitter has only just been inserted into the base of his skull."

Leon felt sick. He wanted to run. He wanted to leave the computer, resign, and go home and cry. But for some reason, some stupid reason which had plagued the human race since its beginning. How when we see a death, a body or someone in pain or discomfort, we can't help just staring for the first few seconds before our brains fully kick in and take action. Except this time Leon's mind didn't boot into any coherent thought process. He only thought: Run.

But something stopped him, yanking him back like elastic. And he stayed, his curiosity getting the better of him. He had to see more. He had to know what was really happening.

So he continued to watch.

The boy seemed to fully understand what was going on, and Leon's head span when the boy's expression twisted with pain. No, Leon thought. No, this kid was in fucking agony. He felt like himself and the boy were slowly coming to the same grim conclusion.

This wasn't a casting video, or an audition tape. Like expected. This was a medical procedure. And by the look of it, it was being done whether the kid liked it or not.

"Can you hear me?" The man demanded, his voice deadpan and cold like splintering ice. The boy was completely strapped down, unable to move. His arms however, were free. He limply held his left hand up instead of speaking, before he moved it behind his head, stroking across his scalp, before he jerked it back, his lips curling with disgust. "What…" the boy finally spoke, and Leon shivered at the sound of his voice. It sounded thick, like he'd been force fed a cocktail of relaxants and sleeping pills. His accent sounded Australian? Or New Zealand. But there was a hint of American seeping in, except it sounded wrong, like it wasn't supposed to be there. "What did you do to my…" the boy winced when he hesitantly touched the back of his head once again. The voice cleared it's throat through a speaker. "Try and calm down, Mr. Andrews."

"What did you do to me?" the boy sounded slightly stronger, but his eyelids were still flickering, like he was on the edge of sleep. The voice, doctor, whoever the hell he was, Leon didn't care, seemed to answer straight away. "You signed a contract." He replied curtly. "Do you remember?"

"No?" The boy tried to sit up, and he managed to balance himself on his elbows before he collapsed back onto the pile of pillows caressing what looked like a bandaged head.

Leon didn't think the boy's expression could get any more confused, but somehow it did, and he turned his dazed brown eyes to the camera. His pupils were enlarged, the skin around his right eye looking swollen red. "I'm not.." the boy seemed to finally grasp hold of reality, and to Leon's surprise, he let out a scoff of weak laughter. "This...this is a joke right?"

"Mr, Andrews." The voice repeated, and this time the boy let out a choked sob. "Wait,Andrews?!"

"For documentation purposes, the date is July the third, two-thousand-and seventeen, and the time is three thirty seven." the voice ignored the boy when he let out another loud and disgruntled sob. "We are currently in the stages of phase one, starting with naming the subject."

"Wait," the boy says weakly, and Leon's blood runs cold. The mystery of this so-called experiment finally coming to light. "Are you...are you calling me by my character's name?"

The boy seemed fully awake now, whether he had been heavily drugged or not.

"There's no need to be alarmed, Archie." the voice continued. "This is just standard procedure. Now, you're authorised to listen to what I'm about to tell you. You signed a contract which holds you to that, do you understand me?"

Leon watched the rebellion dissolve in the boy's expression and made way for fear. "What contract?!" he hisses, and Leon's chest aches. "Tell me what's going on!"

"Under the contract 309.75 that you signed yesterday under the name KJ Apa, you agreed to participate in Project Chronos and fully subject yourself to all upcoming and past procedures." the voice seems to ignore the boy- KJ's cry of confusion. "What?" he tries once again to sit up but is yanked back down like a rag doll. His kiwi accent comes out full on. "You got me to sign a contract when I was wasted?!"

A small pause. "We didn't think you and the others would willingly sign the contract if you knew what you were getting into."

"So you drugged me?!"

"Mr Andrews-" the voice crackles with impatience.

Terror and confusion lights up the boy's expression. "I'm not Archie!" he yelled, trying to squirm his way out of the bonds that held him down. "Why...why are you calling me that? That's not my name!"

A sudden ear piercing shriek sounds out, rattling Leon's ears. But the boy doesn't react to it. In fact, he doesn't do anything. He stops squirming, trying to escape, and just flops down on the bed like dead weight. His eyes were still open, staring at the ceiling, but there was nothing there.

There's what sounds like a chuckle that flitters through the speaker and Leon's blood runs cold. "Then tell me," he sounds almost smug. "What is your name?"

The boy's jaw clenches, life returning to his expression and he opens his mouth, presumably to tell it, but suddenly shuts it, his eyes widening. "I…" he struggles to speak. "I..I don't know."

"Activation complete." the voice said clearly, professional once again. "File A.A.101 is ninety five percent downloaded."

There's another crackle as the voice chuckles. "I told it you just a few minutes ago, would you mind telling it me again?"

The boy stares directly into the camera, his expression blank. Anything that was there, any rebellion, any trace of humanity of the terrified kid he had been a few moments ago, was gone. What was left behind was an empty shell. "Archie." the boy says without hesitation. His voice is changing, the accent twisting from his native New Zealand twang to a new-age modern American. "Archie Andrews."

Finally, after what felt like hours of typing code, cracking through firewall after firewall, he finally had it. The main core. Everything he needed to take them down.

A list of names, names he had seen before, suddenly appeared on the screen, rapidly raining down in splashes of code. Most of the names passed and plunged into cyberspace before he could catch them, but one trailed behind, and he somehow managed to grab it.

APA, KJ.

Leon's heart sank a little. Just at the thought of what the boy was going through. And that gave him even more reason to start typing into the flashing white box. Sammy whipped her head back, her chocolate brown hair straying from her ponytail and flying in her face. "Hurry up!" she yelled. "Dude, we have an hour, tops!"

"I know." Leon growled back, his eyes glued to the screen. He wanted to type so much, a bunch of messages slammed into his brain, votes of sympathy and plain gibberish. But he had to type something. Something that mattered, something that attacked the program.

"I have the other names." Sammy was smiling, her fingers dancing across the keyboard. "Now we just input them into the system and kill it."

Leon nodded, but his fingers strayed, hovering over the keys. He had no idea what to say. He had a moment of weakness, the first in years, when he had no idea what to do. A list of code rained down the screen and he struggled to comprehend that it was someone's thoughts, someone's mental actions and reactions. It was somebody's goddamn brain and he had hacked into it. Eventually after his momentary freak out, Leon shook his head and forced himself to concentrate. He scanned the monitor, his gaze flickering across the screen as code flashed up, commands and prompts that were getting downloaded straight into the kid's brain.

CNMD: APA, KJ: WALK_MOVE_FORWARD_LEFT_RIGHT_MOVE_ARM_LAUGH-TALK:[":BETTY I NEED TO TALK TO YOU"]

It made him sick. This went against human nature, against the freedom to speak, or in this kid's case, do anything. Leon made a face. Just watching the prompts flashing up and imagining the kid obeying to them, being forced to comply due to the contract he was under, that was buried deep inside his skull. The company owned him, owned all of them. They were puppets on strings, forced to act for entertainment. Leon remembered when acting was a choice.

Now it was a death sentence. "Okay." Leon highlighted the prompts listed on the screen and hit delete, and couldn't help a small smile creeping on his lips. For just a second, the kid would be free. There would be no more instructions to follow. It would completely fuck up the system.

Leon checked his microphone was plugged in, and then proceeded to type, quick as a flash into the prompt bar. His words appeared in white writing, scrolling across the screen.

He was careful to copy how the code was written, making sure he got everything. "Leon!" Sammy was hissing impatiently. "We have ten minutes until they block us."

"And then we get moving!" a new voice yelled. It was Gansey. Leon could practically hear Sammy's eyes rolling in their sockets. Gansey was a few years older than Leon, and if their little hacking group was to have a jock, or a 'popular guy' in it, then Gansey would be that guy. He popped his head in the door, the stupidest smirk on his lips. "You guys in?" his tone was playful, as if this wasn't a life or death situation. As if this wasn't people's lives they were playing with.

Gansey stood, as usual in his obligatory white shirt and casual jeans. He had a tendency to wear a light green beanie over his hobbity brown hair, and for some reason, it pissed Leon off.

The only backstory he knew of Gansey's, was that he had ended up on a website he shouldn't have been on, where someone was leaking Telenet's secrets to the public. Except the information was all in code, and Gansey seemed to be the only one smart enough to crack it. After that, the website had been taken down, and Gansey had gone on the run, finding RedHack.

"Give us a sec, jeez!" Sammy twisted around to scowl at Gansey, who only grinned back. "So, have we figured out how to remove the Vchips?" he asked, and Leon nodded slowly. "We're almost there." he answered. But that wasn't good enough for Gansey.

Truthfully, Leon secretly had absolutely no idea what to do with the V-chips. They were brand new pieces of technology only being tested on subjects by Telenet. Leon had no idea how to remove them. The best knowledge he had from an insider, was that the chip's were implanted directly behind the eye, as well as a transmitter plugged into the base of the skull. Leon didn't known much about anatomy, but was sure that it was nearly impossible to remove something that had been physically planted behind your eye. As for the transmitter, he preferred not to even think about that. It was beyond him.

"We're going back to base in about half an hour, with everything we need to bring down Telenet and you still haven't figured how to take down the Vchips?!" Gansey folded his arms, but he wasn't frowning. There was a testing, almost challenging smirk on his lips.

Gansey loved a challenge.

"The only thing we can do is hack into the program's and overpower the prompts, genius." Sammy said, sounding like she was two seconds away from pouring her cold cup of coffee which sat abandoned at her desk, over Gansey's head. "We're not fucking Einstein."

Ignore them. Leon kept typing.

Gansey was one of those people who Leon just wanted to punch. All the damn time. He was British, but it wasn't the accent that made him quite literally insufferable. He was everything Leon wanted to be, but because of things like genetics and unfortunately inheriting his father's horrific eyesight as well as relentless raven curly hair and albino coloured skin, it meant that Leon was a frog prince compared to Gansey, who looked like he had just stepped out of a modelling studio. "Let's get this show on the road!" Gansey leapt over the battered sofa near the door and wandered over to Sammy and Leon. Already Leon could detect that Gansey was staring at him. He bit his lip and continued typing, even if his anxiety was starting to slowly creep back.

"Poor kids." Gansey muttered. Leon could feel his warm breath on the back of his neck; Gansey had been a late comer, one of the last recruits. Leon wasn't sure howGansey had managed to worm his way into their group. Everyone involved had shown intelligence, which Leon was sure the boy lacked. Leon rolled his eyes. "Aren't most of them the same age as you?" he muttered.

Leon was pretty sure the kids were his near-enough his age too. But he was too stubborn to admit that.

"Exactly!" Gansey exclaimed. "Man, that could have happened to me." Leon swore he detected something in the boy's voice which for once wasn't sarcasm or amusement. For once, Gansey Middleton was acting serious.

Leon's hands shook as he typed. Gansey stayed silent. He could feel Sammy's eyes burning into the back of his head as his rough fingers danced across the keys. He tried hard not to think about the brain he was playing with. He was influencing someone's thoughts just by clicking keys on his keyboard. But anything was better than the kid still being under their control.

"I've got B.C.102." Sammy said, squinting at her screen as she typed. Her lips curled into a smile as she hit the ENTER key. "Now get the hell out of there." she muttered.

"We managed to knock out the cameras for about ten minutes," Gansey said, his eyes on Leon's screen. "It should give them enough time to make a run for it."

Leon nodded. "A.A.101 is ready to kill." his forehead was wet with perspiration as he attacked the keys. He typed in:

[NEW CMD PROMPT:] For a second his mind blanked, and he thought back to the video files of the procedure, of what exactly Telenet were doing to these kids. His fingers froze, his heart starting to skip and stutter in his chest. But Gansey was still behind him, warm breath still tickling his neck every time the bastard breathed.

"You got this, Lee." Gansey muttered, and his words hit Leon like a brick to the face. He nodded, shaking hair out of his eyes and continued to type. He could feel his face heating up for some reason, and it never did that. The shaking had gotten even worse the more Gansey talked.

Focus. Leon told himself. Finally the last prompt box appeared, and he typed the only words he could think of:

_**GET** _

_**IT** _

_**OUT.** _

_**NOW.** _

And then, suddenly struggling to breathe, he hit enter.

"A.A. 01, or..whatever your name is." Gansey murmured behind him, leaning in close. "We just granted you independence."

His name is KJ. Leon thought, a flitter of memories coming back to haunt him. He pushed them to the back of his head and concentrated on the code. The screen was processing the prompt. He felt a collective breath being held between the three of them. Before the code seemed to glitch, and his prompt appeared, running swiftly under the program. Leon let out a breath of relief and then a gasp which turned into a laugh. Sammy and Gansey joining in. "Yes!"

Leon found himself twisting around and grinning, but grinning at Gansey. Which, hell, he never did. Gansey was smiling back at him, brown eyes triumphant, and Leon felt something then, a pang in his chest. "Shit." Sammy's voice sliced into his thoughts and dragged him back to reality. Gansey was already listening to her, eyebrows furrowing. "What's wrong?"

Sammy had paled and was typing at her keyboard, or at least trying to type. But her screen was unresponsive. "They've figured out what we're doing and have put some kind of protocol in place," she squinted at her screen and Leon left his chair, moving over to her machine, Gansey right behind him. "The code!" Sammy hissed. "It keeps changing!"

"Wait," Gansey poked the screen with his finger and followed the explosion of code which was running down the screen. "This is just for AA and BC, right?"

The screen underneath JJ.103 and VL.104 were still filled with prompts, but Sammy had cancelled most of the demands, so Leon guessed that without any prompts or anything to say, the others would come back to an element of self awareness and figure out something was wrong.

"Right." Sammy muttered. "The others have reclaimed some kind of consciousness, but the chip's are still transmitting." she let out a frustrated hiss. "As for 01 and 02, I have no idea what any of that means." she says. "I've never seen anything like it before."

Leon scrutinised the screen, his gaze filtering through the layers of code running down the screen before something hit him, a memory he had tried to suppress.

"I have." Leon muttered, both Gansey and Sammy's gazes flitting to him in question.

"That," Leon said, his voice was shaking no matter how hard he tried to keep it under control. He pointed to the code which still scrolled down the screen at a rapid pace.

"That's a kill switch." he said grimly. "They're going to try and shut down the program before we can knock out the signal."

Gansey let out a breath and positioned himself over Sammy's keyboard. His tone came out determined, a ghost of his former self. "Then we fucking stop it."

* * *

For two months now, Set 2 had no disturbances. There were no breaks, since there was no crew. Everything was filmed on tiny cameras only visible with the naked eye. The set had been a school for the last few days. The gloomy school corridors of Riverdale High School. Most of the time there were extras paid to be there, or voluntary participants in the operation, but today it was just the four main characters. They had been standing in the corridor, all of them mindlessly running off scripts in their heads like drones. They tried to make the characters as lifelike as possible, even through the procedure. But nobody, not even Telenet's latest technology, could wipe the vacant and not-quite-there look in their eyes.

That was until, Set 2, after a long three months of being nothing but forced speech and actions, suddenly burst into life. Into colour. When the cameras that had been constantly filming them every second of every day, had blinked off.

But it wasn't just the cameras. Shortly before they went down, the four unwilling participants in Telenet's cruel greed for perfect television, also code-named PROJECT CHRONOS finally seemed to open their eyes, and instead of seeing dull black and white, they were seeing vibrant extravagant colour. Or rather, they were seeing what it really was. Where they really were. Which wasn't a high school corridor in a so-called sleepy town with a secret. It was Set 2, Stage 7. Which finally, after long months of nothing, had been awakened.

Archie Andrews had been in the middle of saying something. At least, he was sure that he had been, but until about a second ago, his mind had gone completely blank. The dialogue that seemed to always be somewhere within the forefront of his head, simply stopped abruptly.

Instead, only one voice flicked across his conscious, "Get. It. Out. Now." followed by a series of random code and text that skidded across his eyes.

Wait.." he seemed to catch hold of himself for a second, his right hand automatically going to the back of his head. "What.." he started to speak, but something rang out in his ears, a piercing screech that eventually managed to coarse him back into submission. But he wasn't having any of it. Archie grabbed his hair and started yanking at it, his expression twisting with distress.

"Argh!" Archie yelled out and stumbled forward slightly, before collapsing entirely, head between his knees with his hands slammed over his ears.

"Archie?" Jughead spoke softly, and then frowned, because he couldn't really remember what he'd been saying prior. In fact, everything in his head was a blank. Jughead's gaze left Archie for a second, and found Betty and Veronica, standing there like they too were suddenly coming out of some kind of stupor. Betty, in fact, looked as if she suddenly had the urge to take off and run away, however, she hadn't said anything. A small gasp coming from Archie's direction suddenly had Jughead turning back to the redhead, who, brows furrowed in concentration, seemed as if he was trying to make sense of something. Again, he called out, "Arch...?"

Archie shot up to his feet with a sudden disconnected determination. "I…" he swallowed. "I'm n-not Archie…Oh god, I-" His entire voice bounded off the walls of the stage setting, making Archie sound as if he'd become a completely different person. But not only that, his accent was no longer his voice, it sounded all wrong. American and slightly Australian mixed with something Jughead was sure he'd heard before, but he couldn't quite remember where.

Stunned to silence, neither Veronica nor Jughead could utter a syllable, only taking a collective step backwards, staring.

That was when Archie looked up at the three others standing there, only a few feet away from him. An almost indecipherable gleam of recognition shot across his already wide amber eyes, before his knees buckled and those eyes reverted to the back of his skull. Jughead stepped out to reach him, to touch him, to make sure he was okay, but was interrupted. No sooner had Archie hit the hollow ground with a painful thud that Betty let out a piercing scream, fingernails ripping at her neat, blonde pony-tailed hair. "What did you-what the hell did you do to him?!" she demanded.

Betty hurried toward Archie and tried to shake him awake, his body flailing uselessly like a rag-doll, but to no avail. As she stood up, she spoke to -or rather at- no one in particular, waving her arms around. "Did you hear me? I said-"

Betty froze before her blue eyes became unfocused and distant, before falling to the floor next to Archie's body, following him in suit.

Both Veronica and Jughead instantly whipped around to look at each other, as if they were afraid of each other suddenly fainting as well. That look could've lasted a few minutes or a few hours, before reality came back to them and the two raven haired teens were bolting (or rather, Ronnie was, Jughead simply couldn't be bothered for anything other than a speed walk) for their unconscious friends. Kneeling down beside his redheaded friend, Jughead poked Archie's cheek softly. "Well," he let out an unsteady breath, glancing up at Veronica who had a pale hand to her mouth, eyes wide with shock. "This just got fifty shades of crazy."

* * *


	2. Pain

* * *

_**TRANSCRIPT: 1** _

_**FILE: 7H36** _

_**DATE: 07/05/2008** _

_**SUBJECT: K. A** _

* * *

_**AGE: 5** _

_**INTERVIEWER: HELLO YOUNG MAN. WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE PROBLEM?** _

_**K.A: MY HEAD HURTS. I [PAUSE] I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT I DID AT SCHOOL AND MY FRIENDS TEASE ME.** _

_**INTERVIEWER: HOW AWFUL. WOULD YOU MIND EXPLAINING THE PAIN?** _

_**K.A: IT'S THE BACK OF MY HEAD. IT FEELS LIKE SOMEONE IS HITTING ME.** _

_**INTERVIEWER: IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE?** _

_**K.A: SOMETIMES IT ALL GOES BLACK. AND I CAN'T SEE.** _

_**INTERVIEWER: OH DEAR. WELL, MY NAME IS DR. MATHIAS. KJ, WE STILL NEED TO DO SOME TESTS, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE YOU MIGHT HAVE WHAT'S CALLED HYPER NEURODEGENERATION. OR HN9 FOR SHORT. IT'S A RARE CONDITION THAT EFFECTS CHILDREN YOUR AGE. IT MEANS YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO REMEMBER THINGS LIKE OTHER KIDS. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?** _

_**K.A: SO...ALZHEIMER'S?** _

_**INTERVIEWER: I DO NOT DOUBT YOUR INTELLIGENCE WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT SUCH A BIG WORD MEANS.** _

_**K.A: I DON'T. MY MUM SAYS IT A LOT.** _

_**K.A [STARTS CRYING]** _

_**INTERVIEWER: THERE'S NO NEED TO CRY YOUNG MAN. THE CONDITION, IF FOUND AT AN EARLY STAGE, WHICH IT HAS BEEN, CAN BE CONTROLLED. SO YOU CAN LEAD A NORMAL LIFE.** _

_**K.A WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? IS MY HEAD GOING TO HURT FOREVER?** _

_**INTERVIEWER: NOT WHEN WE'RE GOING TO HELP YOU. WE'RE GOING TO MEET EVERY YEAR FOR A CHECKUP AND WE'RE GOING TO GET YOU STARTED ON SOME MEDICINE. WOULD YOU LIKE THAT?** _

_**K.A YES. THANK YOU.** _

_**INTERVIEWER: THERE'S NO PROBLEM, YOUNG MAN. IT'S A PROBLEM WE CAN EASILY FIX. NOW ALL WE NEED FROM YOU IS A PROMISE. FROM YOU.** _

_**K.A: WHAT'S THAT?** _

_**INTERVIEWER: MAYBE TALK TO YOUR MOTHER ABOUT ACTING CLASSES. I SEE GREAT POTENTIAL.** _

_**K.A: I WANT TO BE A RUGBY PLAYER. I'M ACTUALLY GOOD. I'M TOP OF MY CLASS.** _

_**INTERVIEWER: YOUNG MAN, LOOK AT ME.** _

_**INTERVIEWER: ACTING CLASSES. ASK FOR THEM.** _

_**K.A: I DON'T WANT TO. I WON'T REMEMBER MY LINES.** _

_**INTERVIEWER: I DON'T THINK YOU'RE FINDING ME CLEAR. ASK YOUR MOTHER FOR ACTING CLASSES. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?** _

_**K.A: YES.** _

_**[INTERVIEW CONCLUDES AT 3:34PM – THURSDAY 5TH JULY, 2008.]** _

* * *

  
  


Veronica stepped around Archie until she was level with his head, squinting as if they were having a staring contest. Then she jumped back, almost tripping over her high heels.

"What's that?" she said, pointing at the unconscious boy's face. Jughead might've made a sarcastic comment, might've said something like "that's his face, of course." but instead, he stared in confusion at the tiny piece of metal protruding from Archie's eyelids.

He watched as Veronica kneeled over the boy's face, placing her slender fingertips against the skin, and pulled them apart slightly, before the redhead's body suddenly jerked, sending her hand flying backwards in a whirlwind of surprised gasps and yelps. "That's gross," Jughead recoiled.

Veronica, regaining her composure, reached out for Archie's eye once more. "It looks like..." she pulled back with a hiss. "Urgh!" she whipped around to face Jughead. "It's moving!"

The dark haired boy looked at her incredulously, then shifted his glance to the sound Archie. "Whatever it is, it's completely embedded in his eye socket." 

Veronica gritted her teeth. Normally, she would be calm in a situation outside of her comfort zone. But this? She glanced at Archie Andrews, still knocked out on the floor. This was too much.

"Hang on a sec," Jughead wandered over to Betty's still form curled up next to Archie. He knelt down next to her and after a moment of hesitation, fumbled around in her pockets. 

"What are you doing?" Veronica followed him, kneeling down next to him. Jughead finally produced a ballpoint biro pen. "It's not a knife," he muttered, his gaze flicking to the slice of metal still protruding from his best friend's eye. He took a deep breath. 

"If we really want to get that damn thing out of his eye," he winced every time he gathered the courage to look at Archie. There was something about what the boy had said before he collapsed, that kept dancing around erratically in Jughead's mind. Something familiar? Jughead shook his head of the thought and turned back to Veronica, wielding the pen like a knife. The nib made him wince. Why did he have it again? It was so normal to have a pen on his person, but Jughead didn't remember picking it up. If he really raked at his foggy memory, there was no pen. Hell, there was nothing.

Letting out a shuddery breath, he blew out a breath. "It's all we've got."

Veronica pulled her hair from her face and addressed Jughead without looking up at him. "Okay." she said softly, her hands drumming on her skirt. "can you, like, hold him down? Just in case he freaks out?" 

Jughead sighed. "Veronica, he's unconscious. He's not exactly going to suddenly get up and start doing, I don't know, cartwheels or something." 

Veronica gave him the smallest of smirks, appreciating his cynical humour, before her expression turned serious. "Just do it, okay?" Jughead rolled his eyes, then, begrudgingly kneeled down and held Archie down by the shoulders.

"Okay, keep him held down, I'm just gonna…" Veronica bit her lip, concentrating as she desperately tried to carve the tiny metal square from Archie's eye socket with the tip of the pen. It'd only been but thirty seconds before she groaned in frustration. "Ugh, it's right underneath his iris, how am I supposed to get this out? It seems almost impossible without cutting into his eyeball, and it's not like I have a medical degree!" the girl let out a hysterical laugh. "I'm using a pen to do this. A pen!"

Jughead stole a glance at Betty. Her always-neat, combed blond hair was tugged to shreds, eyelids frozen open as if she was dead, showing pale blue irises, fish-eyed and blurry. He sighed, almost blinking back tears, "Veronica, hurry up so we can look at Betty too. I can't stand to see her like that."

The girl didn't look up. "Assuming Betty has metal sticking out of her eye too," she murmured. "Do you think they're linked?"

Jughead felt like shouting in frustration. Instead, he stayed calm, gritting his teeth. "Yeah." He said stiffly. "Can you think of any other reason?"

Veronica ignored him. She had her tongue out, concentrating on being delicate, almost afraid to make any sort of incision. Even if it was a pen. Jughead struggled to watch. Just the scraping noise of the nib dragging underneath Archie's eyelid made him nauseous.

"I've almost got it." The girl tucked loose strands of dark hair behind her ear, "let me just-"

However, before she could even finish her sentence, Archie's whole body seemed to stir, as if he was merely starting to waking up on any normal day. His lashes flickered, lips forming a pout that might become a yawn. Veronica squeaked and retracted her hand, as to not puncture his eye as he twitched. "Jug, what do we...what do we do?" 

Jughead was on his feet in an instant, his body shaking, unable to keep his composure. "Okay," his voice broke like he was close to breaking down, "I'm officially freaked out."

He started to back away from the unconscious Archie, whose limbs were twitching, as if bolts of electricity were sizzling up his spine, igniting him like a puppet.

Jughead shook his head, a hysterical cry slowly beginning to build at the back of his throat. For a moment, he didn't care what was happening to them, he didn't care to know whatever the hell was inside Archie's eye. All he wanted was to be with them all again, in Pops perhaps, smiling and laughing at Veronica and Archie's back and forth, while he typed in the corner of the booth, documenting the experience, and stealing glances at Betty while she wasn't looking. That, now he thought about it, felt more like a distant dream, than reality. This, as terrifying and surreal it was, felt more real. 

"Jughead." Veronica's voice pulled him out of his reverie. Her eyes were slitted. Arms folded. "We need to do something." her voice shook. "We can't leave them like that!"

He stopped his nervous train of thought suddenly, his gaze shifting behind Veronica, where Archie and Betty lay. Veronica followed his gaze, turning around as if she expected them both to be standing behind her. When they were both still on the ground, having not moved, she whipped her head back to Jughead, who was frozen. "What..." she demanded, though it sounded slightly on edge, "what is it?" Jug just continued to stare at them, for so long Veronica thought for a moment he hadn't heard her, until he let out a nervous, breathy laugh. "We wake them up, right?" He shot the girl a look, not even sure himself. "Don't quote me on this, but I think...shit, I think something might be controlling him."

The raven head scoffed. "Sure."

But he was quick to snap back. "I'm sorry, can you explain the hunk of metal sticking out of your boyfriend's eye?"

Veronica glared at him. "Do you blame me for being sceptical?"

He didn't. Jughead was hesitant for a second, before clenching his fists, and marching over to Archie, crouching beside his motionless friend.

"Jughead?" Veronica had no choice but to follow.

He took a deep breath, almost laughing at how ridiculous his words sounded, convoluted on his tongue, like a twister. "That..that thing in his eye," he pointed to the sliver of metal still protruding from Archie's socket. He flinched, for a second imagining the strange spike of metal in his eye. He couldn't help lifting a shaky finger and poking the skin around his eye. For just a second he swore he felt something, an odd bump just at the corner of his eye. It was nothing, he told himself. But his finger remained for a moment, awkwardly prodding his eyelid.

"Hey!" Veronica, always the drama queen, hissed out. "Focus!"

"Right." Jughead swallowed hard, trying not to think about how prominent the skin under his eye felt. But he was imagining it, surely. Right?

He surprised himself when his hands came down on her shoulders, reassuring the girl. "I...I'm okay."

Jughead went back to scrutinising Archie's eye, then something hit him. He thought about what happened, about how he couldn't remember anything before earlier. He took a steady breath and opened his mouth. "I think…" Jughead turned to Veronica, his eyes darkening. "I mean this is all theory, but I think it was controlling him."

"Wait, was?!" Veronica repeated slowly, letting out a frustrated breath. 

"Yes." Jughead rolls his eyes at the girl, his tone dramatically changing for a second. "As opposed to not anymore."

Veronica glared at him. "Don't treat me like a fool, Jones." she said, her tone was icy and just the right amount of bitterness to envelope the two of them with shivers crawling up and down their spines. Veronica seemed to be flitting between upset, angry and her usual sassy self. 

Jughead felt like it was his place to apologise, but something stopped him, something caught his attention suddenly. He leaned forward, swearing softly. 

It was Archie. He had started to move again, but this time, instead of just feverish twitches, it was if he really was about to wake up. Jughead shot a glance towards Veronica, who looked as if she was contemplating helping him up or if she should say put.

Suddenly, Archie's hands went up to his face, shoving his fingers into his red locks, and sliding to his closed eyes, which he rubbed as if he were simply waking up in the morning. His hand lingered on his chipped eye socket for a moment, lingering, as if knowing something was wrong, but not sure exactly what it was. 

Archie blinked himself awake, completely unperturbed. The boy sighed, and then, seeming to realize he was lying on the floor of the school, frowned and started to pull himself to his feet. Upon standing up, his whole body seemed to loll drunkenly, before, almost unnaturally, he perked up, immediately addressing his two staring friends with a wide smile. Too wide. Jughead winced, unable to stop himself taking a small step back.

"What happened?" Archie said, through glossed eyes.

Both Jughead and Veronica shuffled back a step (or two), not really knowing how to react to their friend's calmness despite how he was prior to his passing out. When the two of them didn't respond other than with their worried looks, the corners of Archie's lips curled into a small smile. Familiar. But he wasn't sure what kind of familiarity it was. He'd known Archie Andrews his whole life, and yet this boy looked like a stranger. The only thing that kept Jughead from straight up running away, was his best friend's smile.

He knew it. 

This boy was Archie. He knew it was. 

"Are you guys okay?"

Jughead forgot how to speak. He opened his mouth, before the words flew from his mouth, when he wanted to say so much more. "You fainted, Arch."

Hearing this, Archie winced in embarrassment, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry," he laughed nervously, though his tone was strange. Robotic. Veronica and Jughead both looked over from the strangely happy-go-lucky Archie. Both teens could tell just by looking at him, warm brown eyes now projecting an unsettling wiry light, as if there was a current flowing through them. Not to mention the chip that had been so prominent, so out of place and obvious looking, was no longer visible through his pupils.

"Veronica, I'm five seconds away from freaking the hell out." Jughead leaned into the raven haired girl, and to his surprise, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it, her fingernails pinching his skin.

"It's okay," Veronica said softly, reassuringly, her eyes still on Archie. She turned to him then, Veronica Lodge, who he had barely said a word to since she arrived in Riverdale. "Stay with me, okay?" she seemed so earnest, so sweet. Her blue eyes were wide, almost as if she was about to burst out crying. She was barely keeping it together. Jughead had no choice to nod. Because if he lost it, she would be on her own. 

"Betty." Veronica breathed, her gaze skidding to the blonde girl, who was still curled into the foetal position, her blonde hair had strayed from her ponytail and spread around her like a halo. "Do you think..." she trailed off, but Jughead knew exactly what she was going to say. 

Was Betty like Archie? Did the blonde too, have something freaky sticking out of her pupil? He shivered. God, he'd rather not pry into that train of thought. 

Jughead couldn't help staring at the girl, half of him wondering if the same thing would happen to her. If she too would have a smile glued to her face when she woke up. Just like...his gaze slid to Archie, who still seemed to be in some kind of trance-like state. He took it upon himself, after a few deep breaths and a reassuring glance to Veronica, to be the one who would finally speak to Archie. He took a step forward, and damn were his legs shaking. Archie was terrifying him, if he was honest with himself. 

"What's up Jug- Jughead?" The boy stammered, tripping over his words, almost like he was struggling to speak. But the vacant grin remained. Archie cocked his head, his grin splicing his whole face. When Archie cocked his head, there was a crack as the bones in his neck seemed to not enjoy that particular reaction. Jughead could only watch, every instinct telling him to bolt, as Archie's expression seemed to twitch itself into a frenzy. He might have laughed, if this wasn't the scariest thing that had ever happened in his life. The boy looked like a creepy pasta. The type of thing that lurked under his bed when he was thirteen, sneaking looks at his computer. Sonix.exe was a particular favourite of his. Archie's grin was eerily reminiscent.   
  
Archie blinked. "Is something wr- wrong, Jug- Jughead?" 

Instead of freaking out, Jughead squinted, his heart slithering into his toes. The chip, that had until that moment, no longer been fully visible, was once again sticking out of Archie's pupil. He an his hands through his hair, a way to calm himself. But it wasn't working. His chest was tightening. "It's the thing in his eye." he said softly. "The more he talks, the more it seems to be.." Jughead cocked his own head, swallowing bile building at the bridge of his throat. "It seems to be dislodging itself."

Veronica nodded shakily. "And...and then what?"

Jughead shook his head. "I don't know."

"You don't know?!"

Jughead turned to her, his expression remarkably calm, considering the building panic flowing through him. "Talk to him." he said softly, and when she looked at him like he himself had became an emotionless robot like Archie, Jughead rolled his eyes. "Talk to him, Ronnie." struggling for words, Jughead whipped back around to face Archie, who smiled happily at him. And he couldn't help smiling sarcastically back at the redhead, keeping a close eye on the bridge of metal slowly poking from his friend's eyeball. "Every time he speaks, I think...I think that thing is pushing its way out."

Veronica seemed to be psyching herself up. She clenched her fists by her side and followed Jughead, so she was standing beside him. Her gaze was stuck to Archie, who acknowledged her with the smile of a cheshire cat.

"Veronica." He said, his grin seemingly permanent.

The girl ignored him, frantic blue eyes zeroing on Jughead. "So it's like," Veronica turned to Jughead, gritting her teeth. "It's like giving birth, right?"

Jughead surprised himself by letting out a hysterical giggle, which he stifled quickly. That was unexpected. He barely laughed. "Giving birth? What? No!" Then after thinking for a second, he shrugged. "It's a strange metaphor but sure. Think of it like his eye is giving birth." He couldn't resist a smirk. If he didn't laugh, Jughead would cry.

Sucking in a breath, he maintained his gaze on the still smiling Archie. "Think of it like that little thing, whatever the hell it is, is slowly pushing its way through his pupil." 

Veronica hummed. "Okay, so we just talk to him?"

"Yeah." Jughead hesitated. "Ask him his favourite ice-cream flavour."

"Chocolate." Archie answered automatically, startling the two of them. 

His voice was deadpan and emotionless. Jughead gritted his teeth, his gaze, for what felt like the first time, wandering around. Where were they? Everything around them looked so fake. It was school, right? He should know it. And yet he didn't. Suddenly, the world he thought he had known so well, was being yanked out from under his feet.

There was a small pause before Veronica sucked wrinkled her nose and took a step forward. Her voice was soft. Small. She was scared. "What's your name?"

"Archie Andrews." The boy said, without hesitation. Though it sounded more like the words were pre-programmed, ready to gush from his lips whenever he was asked the question. Veronica nodded shakily, shooting a side-glance at Jughead. "What now?" she hissed. 

Jughead didn't answered. He folded his arms. "What's your name?" he repeated.

Veronica jabbed him with her elbow. "How is that going to do anything?"

Jughead sighed, running a hand through his hair. "This is different,"" he murmured, struggling to keep eye contact with his friend, who he was sure had been body snatched.

He let out a breath. "I don't care how how insane I sound, but I'm saying it now; Archie is acting like he's under some kind of control, and has been doing ever since he woke up, and that," he pointed to the edge of metal poking out of Archie's eye. "That's got something to do with it. Now if I'm correct, all we have to do is get it out. It's already damaged, hence.." Jughead grimaced. "The stuttering and stammering. Whatever was affecting him, it's broken. So he's struggling to compute to whatever the hell it is."

"What?" The girl shrieked. "English, Jones?"

"He's glitching." Jughead snapped. "Whatever's been done to him, he's...he's glitching. He's acting like a computer, like his brain is a hardrive and it's being filled with prompts." He turned to the girl. "Like when you open too many tabs in Chrome, and it stops responding. That's what Archie's doing. Look what happens when I ask him a question. He answers like a robot," he shivered. "Like a machine."

To test his theory, Jughead cleared his throat. "Archie," he said warily. "What's the name of your dog?"

"Vegas." Archie answered. Jughead noticed there was what looked like a flicker of emotion pass over his face. Just for a single second. But it was there. This gave him confidence. He motioned for Veronica to get behind him, and the girl did, grabbing onto his wrist. 

"And your father's name?" he pushed. This time, the fake grin fell off Archie's lips like it was never supposed to be there, and the boy's eyebrows furrowed. "F- Fred." He stuttered, seemingly struggling with that question. Okay. Jughead held his breath. They were getting somewhere. He glanced at Veronica. "See? Think of the tabs. He's got too many open. Or I guess, in Archie's case, it's some kind of programmed speech."

The raven haired girl threw her hands up with a sharp scoff. "So my boyfriend is turning into a computer?"

"His brain already is a computer," Jughead replied. "It's just this time, his brain is being overloaded with thoughts that aren't his. And they've crashed."

"Thoughts that aren't his?" Veronica hissed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Mind control." Jughead was quick to reply in a breath. 

The girl didn't respond, and he took the opportunity to continue pressing Archie.

"Name every single person in our History class, Archie." He said. And to his and Veronica's shock, Archie nodded and started to list them alphabetically. When he said their names, his eyes would flicker, and his expression would falter, his expression getting progressively more twisted with every name. 

Both of them exchanged a glance, and Jughead tried to smile. Despite the look of horror on Veronica's face. "If I was still sceptical of something being really wrong," he muttered, his eyes wide as they surveyed Archie. "This would have done it for me." 

Archie finished naming their classmates, before he blinked once, then again, a sudden ear piercing shriek ripping from his lips shaping into a pained O. Which looked alive. It was terrifying how real his expression was, brown eyes wide, lips twisted in agony. 

Jughead grabbed Veronica, pulling the startled girl backwards.

The redhead stumbled drunkenly towards them, as if he was reaching out for help, before his fingers abruptly went to his cheeks, crawling up his face until his wriggling fingers reached the eye where the metal was still protruding. There was sudden look, a flicker of pain, of recognition that flitted across the boy's face, before he once again went slack. His arms fell limply back to his side and his lips stretched back into bright smile.

"Jughead." Veronica whimpered. He's trying to, oh god-" she seemed to be struggling to articulate her words, and Jughead didn't blame her. "He's trying to get it out!"

Vomit burned the back of his throat. "That's what we want, right?" He said shakily. "We want him to take it out."

The girl was squirming. "Himself? Are you crazy? He can't just rip it out!"

"What's my name?" Jughead continued, pushing Veronica's hysterics to the back of his head. He inhaled and exhaled, stepping forward. The ridge of metal started to become more and more visible as it pressed against Archie's pupil, the edge looked sharp enough to slice through skin. Archie's chilling cry had caused something to snap in Jughead's own mind, and he wasn't entirely sure what it was. But he wanted, no needed that thing out of his best friend's eye. Even if it didn't even seem like Archie anymore. But something was nagging at him. The jagged piece of metal seemed to be man-made. I had letters engraved into it's base. So small. But Jughead could just about make out the letter T.

He squinted, curious. "There's something written on it," he murmured, peering at the metal, which was slowly pushing itself out the more Archie spoke. Veronica, grabbing onto his hand, continued shooting questions at the still-smiling boy.

"What's my name?" she asked shakily. "Archie, baby, how many fingers am I holding up?"

Veronica was gushing questions, holding up both hands displaying fingers, her tone on the edge of hysteria. But it seemed to be working. Archie's expression twisted, his lips seemingly morphing into a confused frown, and then back to a startling smile. 

But he wasn't answering them anymore. He was halfway through her name, when he suddenly...stopped. Just like that. His expression fell slack.

Jughead and Veronica exchanged wary glances. Archie seemed to be staring straight through them, his gaze blank and unseeing. Jughead swallowed a cry. "Archie." he took a wary step towards his friend. All he wanted to do was wrap his arms around the redhead, inciting that friendly, and slightly dopey smile. But the boy's expression was blank. 

Veronica's fingernails dug into the flesh of his arm as she clung onto him. "What...what happened?" she hissed. "Why is he just...?"

"Standing there." Jughead breathed, his eyes glued to Archie. Who seemed to be doing just that. Standing there.

Veronica sent him a wary glance. "Jughead, I don't like this."

Jughead nodded shakily. "Agreed. This is way past body-snatchers. It's beyond anything I've ever seen on the silver screen."

Veronica only looked at the boy, her expression twisted with fright. "What do we do?"

The question was so small, and yet it ignited a storm inside of him. How the hell was he supposed to know? His best friend was acting like a glitching computer, and his girlfriend was out cold on the floor. Nothing was concrete in his head. Only theories. Only what ifs. It was killing him that he couldn't give a straight answer. 

Jughead was about to answer. But suddenly he couldn't. He couldn't because Archie's expression hitched again. But this time the boy's face didn't freeze in a creepy fake smile. This time the boy suddenly jolted, blinking rapidly. This time his right hand found its destination, pawing his face, fingers forming pincers before jamming them right into the eye where the chip still stuck out from. Veronica cried out and jumped back, while Jughead couldn't seem to form words as he watched his best friend fall to his knees with an animalistic howl of agony, continuing to force bloody fingers into his eye sockets. Jughead stared, his lip wobbling. To see Archie in so much pain, and yet something held him back from helping the redhead, something brewing in his own mind.

Archie seemed to be twitching, his whole body shuddering as he finally- with- a metallic- twang- managed to yank out whatever had been neatly sandwiched between his optic nerve and the back of his eye. He held it between his thumb and forefinger, gasping for breath.

Sick. Jughead saw stars blink in his vision. His head spun. He was going to be sick. 

Blood pooled from Archie's eye, streaming down his right cheek. But he didn't seem to care. Because Archie was gasping for breath, expression wild and terrified. But it was actual expression. Whatever the hell he had managed to pull from his eye dropped from his fingers and landed on the floor, and Veronica rushed forwards, before Jughead could tell her to get back.

"Jughead, what the the hell even is this?" the girl's lips twisted and she gagged, picking up what looked like a motherboard the size of a fingernail. It was tainted a revealing deep scarlet, and was shaped like a mini SD card. There seemed to be tiny letters, like Jughead thought, engraved into the metal. But Jughead wasn't looking at the piece the redhead had just pulled out of his eye, he was looking at Archie himself.

The boy was shaking, but Jughead couldn't tell if he was laughing or crying.

"I got it." he choked out, whipping his head up to stare at Jughead with eyes that didn't seem real. The boy's voice was different. Thicker. There was relief there, curling in his words, coming in soft breathy gasps. "I got it. Oh god, I got it."

Whatever he had managed to 'get' was the main focus, but Jughead couldn't look past how different Archie suddenly looked. The boy stared up at him for a few seconds, before seemingly reality caught up to him, and Archie slowly realised the state he was in. "Jesus!" he started to scrub at his bleeding eye with his fist manically before letting out a sob. "I got it." he said again, as if he was reassuring himself. He said it again, turning it into a mantra of breaths. His eyes flickered once more, before he sunk to the floor, his whole body trembling, quaking hands nursing his crimson face.

Jughead didn't move. He couldn't move. Because that wasn't Archie. The boy on his knees, cradling his face with hands sticky with his own blood. The voice, the expression...even the accent. It wasn't his best friend.

Luckily, Veronica ripped him out of his temporary stupor, finally addressing the elephant in the room. "What is this?" she was fiddling with the device, turning it with her fingernails. She let out a deep-throated laugh which quickly became a whine. "That...that couldn't have been in his-"

"Eye." Jughead finished. "His eye." He was still frowning at the redhead, flinching when the tremors got worse. The boy looked like he was rocking backwards and forwards. 

Veronica dropped the piece of metal then, brushing it from her palm in disgust.

"It's warm?" she was dancing away from the object as it bounced across the floor, skidding to a halt. Veronica's head snapped up, her eyes widening.

Jughead had no idea how she had the guts to do it, but Veronica was picking it up and once again rolling it around her palm scrutinising it. "God, it's like it's alive?" She studied the thing, peering at the jagged edges.

Jughead most definitely was going to throw up. He wasn't sure when. He could feel bile clawing up his throat, fighting its way out of his body. It needed escape. He needed escape. But Archie was on his knees, head in bloody hands as he sobbed. Broken and terrified. A wail he had never heard. He had heard Archie Andrews cry. But not this. This sounded like a completely different person. This sounded like someone who was in agony.

He didn't cry for long. But this time Jughead knew that it would be the last time. Because when Archie's expression came to life for what felt like the hundredth time, it finally seemed genuine. He stilled, peeling bloody hands from his face, letting out a sharp breath. The boy blinked at Jughead and Veronica, before his eyebrows bunched together in confusion, a small smile graced his lips. Confusion. 

Jughead felt like his brain was on fire. Archie had gone from emotionless robot, to having a mental breakdown, to...to...this. 

Archie seemed to loosen up, half glazed eyes narrowing slightly. He shuffled back, regarding them with wide eyes. "Is someone going to tell me what's going on?"

Jughead winced at Archie's accent. A strong twang which felt wrong when the boy spoke. But at the same time, it felt right. He'd heard it before. Australian. No, New Zealand. Kiwi. But he had known Archie Andrews his entire life, and not once had the boy told him he was originally from New Zealand. Or that he had an accent. But there it was, clear as day. "Okay," Jughead breathed shakily, when Archie's gaze finally fell on him. "Please tell me you have an explanation for going Ex-Machina on us."

Archie squinted at them, before his lips stretched into a laughing smile. "What?"

That was a mood change. 

Veronica knelt in front of him. "Archie," she murmured softly. Her voice was sweet and mellow, the type of tone you would use to calm a screaming child. Except Archie was perfectly calm. Which looked ridiculous. His sceptical smirk which had suddenly curled on his lips suddenly didn't seem to make sense when his right eye was severed and his cheek was smeared scarlet. Though he didn't seem to realize. He stared right back at her.

"Did you just call me Archie?" he started to laugh, once again with a laugh Jughead did't know. But after noticing their expressions, all the humour seemed to dissipate from his expression and his lips formed a grim line. "Okay, you're scaring me." He jumped up, stumbling, but managed to straighten himself up. Both Veronica and Jughead stared at him.

Veronica regained her speech first. 

"Archie, did you hit your head?" and after a beat and seeing the confusion light up the boy's expression, her tone softened. "Are you...are you okay?"

Archie blinked. "Of course I'm okay." he said. "Are you guys okay?"

The accent. Jughead couldn't seem to grasp it. Every word that came out of the boy's mouth didn't seem like something Archie would say. Even the facial expressions he had been making. Just little mannerisms seemed different. The way his eyebrows rose in a cynical manner, and the way his lip quirked into a small smile.

Jughead didn't answer the boy. Instead, with a sick feeling brewing in his gut, he pressed harder. "Do you remember anything that just happened?" slowly, he got closer to the boy, before crouching, as if Archie was a wounded animal. 

"No?" Archie frowned at them before scratching the back of his head. "I do know that my head hurts like a bitch, though." 

Wincing, the boy ran his fingers over the back of his skull. Jughead can't help noticing that. The jerk of his hand, the pain flashing in his eyes. And suddenly his own fingertips twitched with the urge to investigate his own. A small voice in his head was pretty forceful. What if he was the same? And then his fingers were trailing across his eyebrow, a shiver rippling down his spine. Until Archie caught his eye. 

He drew his back, swallowing hard. 

Jughead swore he saw recognition flit across the boy's mocha eyes. Even if it's only for a second. Except it's not recognition for him. It's for someone else.

"Cole?" worry flashes across Archie's eyes, and Archie cocked his head. 

"You alright mate?"

"Cole?" The name comes out like poison on his tongue, and he's not sure why. Before he could start yelling, Jughead steeled himself. He held his breath, before letting out in a choked laugh. "Are you forgetting your best pal's name, Arch?"

Archie's reaction ignited something in his blood which flared to life. The confusion in glazed browns, the wrinkle in his brows, and the twist of a maybe-smile on his lips. Because it confirmed the worst; that whatever Archie had yanked out of his eye, had, in a way, been Archie Andrews. Because the second the boy was free, Jughead was no longer looking at his best friend. This boy was a complete stranger with his face. 

Veronica surprised him with a laugh. But she wasn't smiling. "Cut the crap, Archie," she said sharply. Her eyes blazed. "This, whatever you're doing, isn't the least bit funny."

The amused smirk slipped off Archie's lips, his eyes widening. "What joke?" He, this time, let out a laugh. "Is there something I'm missing? Why are we calling each other by our character names?"

Jughead felt faint. 

"Your character?" Veronica repeated, in what Jughead could only describe as a squeak. 

Archie's lip curled. "Uh, yeah?" Again, he rubbed the back of his head, wincing. "That's what the game is, right?" The boy nodded at them eagerly. "Camila?" his gaze danced to Jughead, his lips breaking out into a grin. "Was this you, Cole?"

Speechless, Jughead stared. "Cole?" he hated how small he sounded, like a kid. But he couldn't stop the tremor in his voice. "Stop." He said softly. "Archie, stop."

Archie paled. "Stop what? Dude, you're the ones who're carrying this shit on!" He tuned to Veronica. "Camila, what's wrong with him?"

The raven head looked startled. "Archie, sweetie, I think you've hit your head." she gestured for him to sit down, but the boy shook his head, scowling. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

"Because it's...it's your name?" the girl said, a little shakily. She pulled something out of her skirt pocket, holding it up so Archie could stare at it. Jughead didn't know why she was showing him it. The boy's eyes bugged out, lips curling. "Jesus, What the fuck is that?" 

Jughead flinched. The little things. Archie never swore. His gaze snapped from the chip that he somehow didn't remember pulling out of his own eye, and back to them. "Okay, I'm done," he threw his arms up, laughing. "I have no idea what's going on. All I know is that my...my head fucking kills, and..." he peered at the two of them, pain flashing in his eyes, despite the wry smile still clinging to his lips. "You two have fuckin lost it."

When none of them replied, the redhead groaned. "Well? Is there a reason for the crackhead behaviour, or did wake up this morning, and decide to play the mother of all pranks on me?" His eyes seemed to darken, gaze bouncing down the corridor, before landing back on them. "Wait, where are we? How did we even get here? Is this a new set?"

"A set?" Veronica and Jughead echoed Archie's words. 

"School." Jughead answered the boy, in almost a daze. 

Archie blinked at them. "Okay." He let out a frustrated breath. "Alright, I'm done. We're done. Whatever you're playing, it's over." his voice was shaking.

"Cole?!" Archie's desperate eyes turned to him, his tone suddenly hitting near-hysterics. "Are you going to tell me what the fuck is happening?" the redhead stumbled around, gesturing to the dim lights, the lockers lined up that suddenly didn't look real. "Are you going to explain why we're on an empty set? Why my head is fucking killing, and nobody's..." Archie let out a sharp breath, his expression twisting into hysteria.

"Nobody's here. Why is nobody here, Cole?" Archie laughed again, though this time it was more of a sob. "This is a joke. I get it now. You're messing with my head, right? This one isn't working, mate. It's just really fucking freaking me out." Jughead had to resist the urge to push the boy away when the redhead grabbed his arm, tightening his grip.

Swallowing thickly, he chose his words carefully.

"Who's Cole?" Jughead's stomach was clenching, his chest felt like it was straining against his rib cage. He notices then, that his hands were shaking. He wiped them on his jeans. 

Archie held his stare. "Oh, is this a game? Do you want me to call you Jughead?" He laughed again. "Alright, fine. Your wish is my command." he motioned to the two of them. "Jughead," He said sharply, over exaggerating his name. "And Veronica." Archie nodded at the raven haired girl with what Jughead could only describe as a sarcastic smile. "What's going on? What's with the character names thing? It's freaking me out. What was that...that thing Cami had?" once again, Archie yelped, his trembling fingers going back and forth, rubbing at the back of his head, and then his eye. "Where did that come from?"

Jughead finally stepped away from the boy.

"You're not Archie." that's what he wanted to say to the boy with Archie's face, and nothing else. Not even his voice. That familiar American drawl had been twisted into something different. Something lighter. His head was spinning, thoughts a vicious cyclone in his skull. If the boy standing directly in front of him wasn't Archie, then who was Archie? He found his gaze sticking to Veronica's hand where the tiny chip lay, still sticky with the boy's blood. Whatever that thing was, it had answers.

Veronica addressed Archie, and the boy just frowned at her, scratching the back of his head. "Okay, so this, believe it or not," she held up the tiny object. "This came out of your eye." she eyed Archie carefully, but all he did was stare back blankly. His cheeks had gone a sickly shade of white. "You pulled it out yourself."

Archie shook his head, defiant. "No, are you kidding me? I've never seen that before!" And yet his fingers gingerly prodded the tender skin of his right eye. "I have no idea what the hell that thing is," He whimpered. When Veronica held it closer, the boy's expression twisted into a mixture of pain and confusion. He stumbled back, nearly falling over himself. "Please tell me what's going on." Archie wasn't joking around this time, the smile wiped cleanly from his lips. He pressed his fists into his eyes, inhaling sharply. "Fuck. I'm going crazy. I really am losing my fucking mind."

Jughead found his voice. It was scratchy, barely a voice at all, but he still managed to utter the words stuck to his throat. "Talk." He said simply, fighting back a yell. 

Archie, or, Jughead thought feverishly, not Archie, scowled. "What's to say? you two are the ones acting fucking crazy! Why do you keep calling me Archie? What's going on?" His gaze seemed to find the girl still passed out on the floor, laying in a blur of golden curls. The redhead gaped at her, shaking his head. "Lili?" He whispered. Before either of them could stop him, he was dropping to his knees beside the girl, running shaky hands over her cheeks, removing straying strands of hair from her eyes. He looked up at them, blinking rapidly. "What the hell happened to her?"

Jughead couldn't stop the words flying from his lips. "Archie, that's Betty! 

"Lili!" Archie hisses, and before Veronica and Jughead can stop him, he's falling to his knees beside Betty, and shaking her gently. "What happened to her?" he stroked his fingers across her cheek, removing stray strands of her hair. Jughead stiffened. "Lili?" he questioned. "Archie, that's Betty. The girl you've known your whole life. How the hell could you forget her?!"

Archie's head snapped up, his gaze cold and steely. Jughead had never seen the boy look at him like that. Archie's eyes had always ever held kindness and determination to do better. Be better. But now all they looked were...sad. So incredibly sad, and confused. He'd gotten used to seeing his friend never showing any emotion. And now he looked like he was splintering apart. "Her name is Lili." He said, his tone strained, like any second now he'd lose it. There were tears glistening in his eyes. And it was then when Jughead realised, Archie, or the imposer with Archie's face, was really crying. 

Archie didn't cry. At least, Jughead had never seen him cry. 

Still cradling Betty, trying to lift her motionless form, the redhead glared at the two of them. "Tell me." He spat out, that strange accent twanging. "Tell me what happened to Lili, and why you're acting so fucking weird." his words were harsh, and yet Archie's expression was pleading. The boy's gaze locked on the chip still pinched between her index finger and thumb, his expression darkening. He looked like he might say something, before deciding against it. Instead, he stood up, swaying slightly, barely able to stand.

Jughead watched the boy struggle to stand, brown eyes creasing in pain when he gingerly ran his hand over the back of his head. He took a staggering breath. "So, if we were to entertain the idea that you..." he struggled to articulate the words. "Aren't Archie." He lifted a brow, almost mockingly. Yet his heart still pounded. His chest was tightening, and it was getting progressively harder to breathe. Veronica gave him a sharp look. 

"Are you serious?" she hissed. "You're fuelling his...his clearly concussion fuelled delusions?"

Jughead chewed his lip. This was a risk. But if he didn't start asking questions, Jughead was going to go crazy. "Just let me do this." still eyeing Archie, who was frowning at them both, as if they'd both just grown a second head, he sighed. Archie's eyes were wide, like a deer trapped in headlights. But there was a curl in his expression. Suspicion. Jughead continued, forcing the words out. "If you aren't Archie, then who the hell are you?"

The boy visibly stiffened. He looked like he might try and step back, but caught himself at the last second. His eyelashes flickered, and Jughead swore he could sense the boy delving into his own mind. "KJ." He said softly, as if only just remembering it. Maybe Jughead was going crazy, but part of him believed the boy. How could he not? He was in pain, doing a bad job at hiding it, lips twisting. "I play Archie." looking up at the two of them, he swallowed. "I mean, I just got the part. I didn't think..." trailing off again, the strange boy must have seen their expressions. "Listen to me, I don't know what the hell happened to you guys, because my memory is fucking mash potatoes. But I play Archie Andrews, okay? He's my...he's my character. I'm not actually him." 

And there it was. The nail in the coffin. 

The redhead winced again. This eyes filled with tears. "My head is fucking killing me," he moaned, squeezing his eyes shut.

Veronica started forwards, her expression crumpling. "Archie-"

His eyes flew open, this time furious. "Stop calling me that!" He tried to laugh, masking the pain. "Okay, you guys must have fallen and hit your head. Did I? Is that why my fucking head feels like it's caving it on itself?"

"We've hit our head?!" Veronica squeaked. "Have you looked at yourself lately?"

"Veronica." Jughead shot her a glare. "Let him speak."

Not Archie nodded, still grimacing. "Just...give me a sec." He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, before they flickered open. "Do you guys really think you're Jughead and Veronica?" the words came in a pained hiss.

Jughead went cold all over. "Who else would we be?" 

Forsythe Pendleton Jones, the third. That was his name. His identity. He was Jughead Jones. He was best friends with Archie Andrews and in love with Betty Cooper. He loved writing and spending his time in Pops, chomping on burgers and fries.

That was who he was. 

But Not-Archie didn't seem to think that.

He remained still, as the boy stepped closer to him, grabbing his shoulders gently. "Cole, listen to me." he said. Jughead wanted to wrench himself away, but he was frozen. He couldn't breathe. Because looking into this boy's eyes, he realised the redhead wasn't looking at him. He was looking for someone else. And there was the determination, the drive of Archie Andrews flickering in a stranger's eyes. "I don't know what the fuck has happened to us, but you need to understand that you're not Jughead, okay?" letting out a shaky breath, the boy squeezed his shoulders tightly, eyes that suddenly seemed so much darker, haunted, searched his. No doubt for his friend. "Tell me you understand."

Jughead swallowed thickly. His voice was hoarse. "I don't understand what you're talking about." it was almost a whine, because part of him did. Part of him was searching for this missing piece of himself, this splintered fragment so out of reach. 

Archie, or he guessed KJ, didn't push. He took a step back, nodding. "Right. Oh god. Of fuck, I'm not equipped to deal with this shit." he clutched his head. "That thing Cami was holding," he said softly, pained eyes turning back to them. "What did you say I did?"

"This?" Veronica dropped the chip into his palm. KJ held it between his thumb and forefinger. "This," he swallowed thickly. "This came out of my eye?"

Jughead found himself nodding. "You pulled it out?"

The boy rubbed at his sore eye, groaning. "I did?"

Veronica finally seemed to grasp onto speech. She leaned close to him. "Do you know what it is?" she whispered. KJ screwed his face up, eyes scrutinising, but he sighed and dropped the device back into her outstretched palm. Then he began to pace, both of his arms behind his head. "What the fuck is going on?" 

Jughead found his words again. And they came out like word vomit. "You tell us! You go from Archie Andrews, suddenly...you...you glitch, you freak out and yank what looks like an SD card out of your eye, and then you're a completely different person!" 

"A different person?" KJ frowned at the chip in Veronica's hand, and Jughead could practically hear the cogs turning in his mind. The boy turned to Jughead. "Cole, you really don't know who you are?" he pressed. "You don't remember going through the audition together?" 

Jughead shook his head, suppressing a cry. 

KJ hummed, nursing his eye. "Camila, you think you're-"

"Veronica Lodge." she hissed, gesturing wildly at Jughead. "And he, believe it or not, is-"

"Jughead Jones." KJ said, his mouth set in a grim line. His gaze snapped to Jughead for half a second, but Jughead caught a sense of familiarity, as if there was someone else inside him, a second personality that bad been pushed back, suppressed.

KJ pulled a face, scratching the back of his head. "The character." he said softly, hitting himself in the head. "The fucking fictional character!" He laughed again, exasperated. "You guys really think you're the fucking Archie characters!"

Characters. 

That word made him feel dizzy. Sick.

The boy continued. "You said I pulled that thing out of my eye, right? So..." he trailed off, and Jughead saw the realisation dawn on his face. Jughead's breath caught in his throat when the boy spun around to face him. "If you're serious about this, Cole," KJ spluttered. "Before I pulled it out," He said breathlessly. "Was I-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence, before alarms started blaring. 

But it wasn't the school bell. Jughead slammed his hands over his ears to block out the excruciating noise, which sounded like it was a physical entity drilling into his skull. 

"What the hell is that?!"


	3. Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> god, this is so badly edited.

TRANSCRIPT: 1

FILE: 8FR5

DATE: 07/05/2008

SUBJECT: C. S

AGE: 6

-

INTERVIEWER: HELLO, YOUNG MAN. MY NAME IS DOCTOR MATHIAS. WOULD YOU LIKE TO TELL ME YOUR NAME?

CS: NO.

INTERVIEWER: YOUR NAME BEGINS WITH A C, RIGHT? AM I CLOSE?

C.S: NO.

INTERVIEWER: THERE'S NO NEED TO BE AFRAID. I'M HERE TO HELP YOU.

C.S: I DON'T WANT TO TELL YOU MY NAME. 

INTERVIEWER: THEN HOW CAN I MAKE YOU BETTER? 

C.S: I'M NOT SICK. 

INTERVIEWER: NOW, COLE. YOUR MOMMY TOLD ME YOUR HEAD HAS BEEN HURTING. WHAT ELSE CAN YOU TELL ME? DOES IT GO BLACK AT ALL? 

C.S: NO. I'M FINE. 

INTERVIEWER: COLE, I CAN'T MAKE YOU BETTER IF YOU DO NOT TALK TO ME. 

C.S: I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU. I WANT TO GO HOME. 

INTERVIEWER: THAT'S UNDERSTANDABLE FOR A BOY YOUR AGE. BUT I CAN MAKE YOU BETTER, IF YOU TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG. YOUR HEAD HURTS, RIGHT?

[PAUSE]

C.S: YES. 

INTERVIEWER: AND YOU'RE FORGETTING THINGS? YOUR MOM TOLD ME SOME VERY SCARY THINGS. 

C.S:SHE'S SCARED. 

INTERVIEWER: SCARED OF WHAT? 

C.S: SCARED SHE'S GOING TO LOSE ME. 

INTERVIEWER: SON, I WILL NOT LET THAT HAPPEN. THERE IS NOTHING FOR YOU TO WORRY ABOUT. YOU JUST FOCUS ON GETTING BETTER, OKAY? 

C.S: OKAY.

INTERVIEWER: WONDERFUL. NOW, COLE. YOU HAVE A RARE SICKNESS CALLED HYPER NEURODEGENERATION. IT IS TREATABLE, AND AS LONG AS YOU KEEP COMING TO SEE ME, IT WILL GET BETTER. 

C.S: CAN I GO NOW? 

INTERVIEWER: OF COURSE. WHY DON'T YOU TAKE ONE OF THE COMICS IN FRONT OF YOU? I'M SURE YOU'D LIKE TO READ SOME OF THE STORIES. 

C.S: I DON'T LIKE READING. 

INTERVIEWER: TAKE IT, COLE. 

[INTERVIEW ENDS: JULY 5TH, 2008.

5:35PM]

  
Twelve year old KJ was bored. 

He fidgeted in the uncomfortable leather three-seater, inspecting the dirt under his fingernails and shifting occasionally. Though it wasn’t like it was doing him any good. The migraine in his head continued to pound away like a hammer at a nail. Seconds lasted for centuries in his mind, and it didn't help that he was in unimaginable pain. 

He sighed, making it long and heavy to express his level of agony, and gingerly looked up to confront the rest of the bleak waiting room. Clinical white walls stated back, and a shiver ran down his spine. They could have at least added a splash of colour. But no. It reminded him more of a hospital ward. 

He didn't want to be there, and yes, it was just a two week visit. Just until the doctor sorted things out with his local doctor back home. His mother had told him he had been here before. When he was little. But he had no recollection of it. There was no surprise there, of course. 

Even if KJ technically had no recollection of the surgery, he already knew he hated it. His parents had told him it would be a visit every three years, because the only specialist who could help him, happened to be halfway across the world. Except he hated America. It was too big. Too crowded. Compared to back home, he felt drowned out in the crowds, a speck among so many. The sun was too bright, not the mellow warmth he was used to back home. It scorched his back. The LA heat was brutal, especially in mid-June. He’d already sweated through two t-shirts, and could already feel his present loose collared shirt sticking to his back. 

KJ continued to fidget. His phone was in his lap and he slid his fingers around the dense sides, fingering the home button. He missed his parents. Just a phone call away, his mum had insisted. But not when his phone was dead and he was millions of miles away stuck in a dingy waiting room with too-bright orange chairs filled with strangers. Kids like him, who hadn’t made any attempt to speak to him. Though he wasn’t surprised. He was skinny for his age with olive skin, a reminder of home. Compared to the other kids, his skin was dark, a reminder of his surfing days. Sitting on the beach under the sun and learning to play songs that he knew he’d forget. But it was still nice. KJ wasn’t a fan of his appearance. He was skinny for his age, almost lanky, with dark curls hanging in half lidded eyes. Half lidded, because he was finding it hard to stay awake. 

Though the ever pressing pain tickling in the back of his head, wasn’t going to let him. 

So, instead of trying to sleep, he turned his attention to the other patients. KJ had spoken to them once, and regretted it when his accent came out, thick and strong, a Kiwi twang that felt natural on his tongue, and yet the other kids had looked at him like he’d spoken a different language. So he’d kept his mouth shut since then. 

There were two girls sitting on the opposite couch. A blonde and a raven head. They were giggling to each other, sitting shoulder to shoulder. KJ couldn't help feel envious of them, as they seemed to be happily passing the time just talking and laughing, and most of all, not bored as hell. 

They didn't seem like they were hurting, and he couldn’t help but wonder why they were here too. 

KJ couldn't help notice the blonde girl had a band aid on her arm which was speckled scarlet and he winced. He didn't like blood. Or shots. He really hoped he wasn't going to get a shot. Although the blonde girl seemed like she didn't have a care in the world as she fiddled with her pigtails, murmuring girl-speak to her raven-haired friend. That's what KJ liked to call it, anyway. Girl-speak. Unintelligible words spoken by girls his age that usually accompanied a giggle or sharp glance in his direction. 

He got it a lot at school. He was sure it wasn’t because of his face. He’d inherited his mother’s pointy nose, after all, as as well as his father’s freckles that dotted his cheeks. The reason why girls and boys alike laughed at him back home, was because of his broken brain.

A sudden sharp ache shot his brain like a harpoon in his head and KJ winced, having to close his eyes and bite down extremely forcefully on his lip to keep from crying out. It was getting worse, and with every episode, he felt like his head was going to explode. 

Lolling his head to the other side of the room, he watched the room spin slightly and his eyes failed to keep up with the motion. His head was full of cotton, and he felt disgusting and nauseous despite the fact he hadn't had the stomach to eat anything all day. KJ tried to simply focus on a single point and breathe, knowing all too well that it'd be over soon and he'd be able to think straight once more, even though the few minutes were like being dragged through hell.

Think about anything, his mum had told him. Think about home, baby. Think about the sky here. Think about how the sea and islands. Think about us. 

Swallowing hard, KJ pictured home. The warm sand tickling his feet, the sun caressing his back. The cornflour coloured sky, and mum. Dad. 

He blinked away tears, shaking his head. 

Out of the corner of his eye, KJ noticed another figure, sitting alone, lying across one of the chairs with his legs dangling over one of the arms. It was a kid around his age with olive skin, a wash of dark hair sticking from under a knitted blue beanie. 

The kid had a Nintendo DS. It was pale blue, and had KJ’s attention immediately. He wasn’t a allowed one. According to his mother, electrical devices (games consoles) would only make his head worse. But seeing the DS with his own eyes, not just on the commercials back at home, KJ had a spark of longing. Especially when the boy let out sharp hiss, his thumb mashing the four buttons on the right , while dragging a small plastic stick across the bottom screen. 

Straightening up, brown eyes still stuck to the DS, KJ Slowly scooted towards the other boy, sitting himself awkwardly at the end of the leather seater. 

The boy seemed to notice KJ's presence, sending him a sharp side eye, but ignored him, shifting closer to the wall, as if silently hinting that he wanted to he left alone. They sat in an awkward silence, before KJ couldn’t stand it anymore. 

"Hey.” he said, fiddling with the zipper on his jacket. It provided the slightest bit of comfort as he found rolling the metal piece around in his fingers actually worked as an anchor away from things like the overbearing pain in his head, and breaking the ice with strangers.

He cleared his throat, ignoring the butterflies attacking his gut, and forced a friendly smile. Which really didn't help the tension gripping his head. "I’m KJ. I’m an, uh- a patient here too. Well, sort of? My mum sent me here for two weeks, but..” He trailed off, realising the boy wasn’t listening to him. Instead his eyes were on the brightly coloured screen of his DS, his hand making rapid movements. 

“Uh.” clearing his throat, he tried again. “I’m KJ. I’m twelve. Nearly thirteen, and I’m a patient here too-“

“I know.” the boy didn’t turn his attention from the console, and let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m not deaf, I heard you the first time.” 

KJ’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. “Oh, right.” 

Finally, the boy turned to him, amused green eyes taking him in. He was smiling. “Do you always take things so seriously?” He quirked a brow, his smile slowly morphing into a grin. When KJ could only stare back, the boy straightened up so he could sit down properly. “Cole.” He said, his gaze going back to his DS, but there was a smile on his face. One that KJ found himself liking. “I’m thirteen. And yes, I’m playing Pokemon, and no, you can’t have a go until I’m done with this gym battle.” 

KJ found it hard to contain his excitement. “I can have a go?” 

Cole turned to him, lips curved into a smirk. “What, do they not have Nintendo DS’s in Australia?” 

The reply was instant. “I’m from New Zealand.” but he couldn’t help chuckling. 

“Got it. New Zealand. I’ll remember that.” Cole seemed to catch himself, the glint in his eyes fading slightly. “Actually, I probably won’t.” 

Instead of replying, KJ gestures to the boy’s game. Because this was the first kid he’d spoken to who hadn’t called him names, or asked if he even had a brain. “So, what do you have to do?” 

Cole seemed happy to explain it, delving into the mechanics of the game. KJ watched him play the game for a while, gasping at the times Cole did. When the boy turned to him with the blue brick, his stomach dived into his throat. “Here.” The boy handed him the console. “Let’s see if you were actually listening to me.” 

Cole leaned over to see the screen better. "Okay, so you…" he trailed off as he remembered the stylus, offering it to KJ, who was, at this point, scrubbing his finger across the screen in circles, watching as the character danced around the perimeter of the map to follow his touch. 

Cole immediately wrenched his hand away hastily. “Hey," he snapped. “don’t use your finger, moron, you’ll get the screen dirty.” 

KJ laughed. It was a real laugh. He hadn’t laughed like that in so long. “My fingers are clean!” but he took the stylus anyway.

Cole once again attempted to explain the gist of the game to KJ, who was amazed to no end at how many Caterpies they'd fought on their way to a gym battle ("KJ, we don't have to fight all of these, we can just run, you know.") But KJ was enjoying himself. Both boys found themselves in suspense whenever a higher levelled Pokémon appeared, Cole giving KJ tips on how to beat them.  
KJ had made his way to the gym's boss, it was finally his chance to put his new found skill to the test. (showing off in front of Cole wasn't such a bad thought either, especially after all of the bragging he had done.) 

The door to the doctor's office swung open, startling the two of them, and knocking them from the bubble they’d found themselves in. Looking up, KJ blinked as the waiting room once again, tossing a look at Cole, who looked just as perturbed. 

”KJ Apa?" A lady with a tight blonde ponytail and a clipboard called into the waiting room. Her bright smile hurt KJ's head, and he was once again reminded of his predicament. He was stuck in a foreign country with a broken brain, and his parents were a whole world away, back in the mellow sun. 

But for once, he had actually been able to be a kid again.  
KJ sighed, hoping his expression could convey his level of disappointment. He reluctantly gave Cole his DS back and stood slowly, turning to the boy, who cocked a brow, but didn’t say anything. 

“I guess I'll see you later?" KJ really did try to smile at the boy. Even if it did make the pain worse. He could feel it crawling vexatiously across his forehead and fought back a wince.

Cole looked disappointed, his eyebrows furrowed, lips curled as if to maybe argue with the nurse. Part of KJ hoped he did. But instead, Cole shrugged. “Have fun.” He said, his tone suggesting exactly the opposite, before turning back to his game with a over exaggerated sigh. 

He thought Cole would say something else but the boy turned his head and twisted his body to settle back into his own little world. But the boy seemed to have lost his spark. KJ swore he was pressing A, Y and X a little harder than needed.

KJ wanted to say more. Maybe exchange numbers? He really needed a friend, and what was better than a kid in the same position as him? Cole seemed to be waiting for the doctor too, so KJ bet he had the same condition. Maybe all four of them did. He waited for a few more seconds, trying to pluck up the courage to ask Cole for his number. But the boy had completely disconnected from reality, leaning his head into the soft leather, and turning away from KJ and the nurse.

“KJ, sweetie, the doctor is waiting for you.” 

He only nodded, stuffing his hands in his jeans pockets. 

As KJ turned around to walk through the door, his headache came back, this time with a force to make his vision blur for a second. He was about to lose his memories again, that much he knew. It was scary that he was used to it by now. He rubbed his temples, and felt a hand push lightly on his back, guiding him through the door. 

"Hey, wait!" The familiar voice made him twist his head to look back. But the doctor's assistant was ushering him away. "KJ, don't be shy, honey." Except her grip was firm on his shoulder. her fingernails digging into the flesh of his back. "Doctor Mathias is ready for you."

Nodding, KJ smiled politely at the nurse. “Okay, but can I just talk to my friend for a second?”   
  
The nurse studied him for way longer than necessary, before nodding. “Okay, whatever it is you want to say, get it over with." Her tone was suddenly impatient. “Doctor Mathias doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

"Chill, it’ll only take a second.” Cole was rolling his eyes at the nurse, but sent KJ a playful smirk. “Oh, are we friends now?” He murmured, and KJ found himself grinning back. 

The boy stuck out his hand. “So since we’re besties now, can I have my stylus back?” 

  
KJ stared blankly back at him, grimacing at the pain now fully fledged, tearing across his skull, and Cole seemed to understand what he was feeling, and his mouth twisted, as if he too felt the slashes of pain digging into KJ's skull. He took a step back. “Keep it till you come out, yeah? We can resume our battle.” 

He raises his hand in a two fingered salute. “I’ll wait for you, okay? Please don’t use my stylus as a tooth pick.” 

KJ smiled at the boy, and Cole quirked his eyebrow, jutting his head in the direction of the doctor's office, as if reassuring him to go in. Relief flooded him. Yes. He ignored the prickles of pain inching across his eyebrow. It would all be okay. “Come along, KJ.” The nurse hummed. 

KJ couldn't stop himself from smiling, as he followed the nurse. There was an afterwards? Did this kid want to continue hanging out with him? Though he had to play it cool. It was rare that a kid even spoke with him. Because even if he had managed to make a friend, he'd forget they existed the day after. 

Back in New Zealand he had managed to form a bond with a girl, Layla. She was kind and funny and made him laugh. Plus, she seemed to look past his condition. All of these descriptions though, were his mother's account. Not his. Because he had no recollection of the girl. And when Layla had approached him one morning, he had no idea who she was. His mother had to tell him and it had clearly shaken the girl. After that, his mother home-schooled him. She thought that might be 'for the best'. So he had bid goodbye to a rugby career. His mother seemed pretty insistent of him getting acting classes once he had seen the doctor. He'd tried it at five. Apparently. 

He couldn't remember, of course.

Though the home-schooling hadn't worked. He started forgetting things almost every day. There were constant blanks in his memory that he couldn't fill in. So his parents had sent him all the way here to live with his aunt for a few weeks. Though the whole point of the trip was to be where he was now; Falls Children's Surgery.

And then it hit him. The severity of the situation. His condition coming back to haunt him. It could happen at any point, and KJ was terrified of it happening again. Especially with Cole, who seemed so genuine, like he really wanted to be friends. He suddenly felt a rush of determination. If the doctor could fix him, then he would grit his teeth through shots. He would be better. 

“Okay." He smiled brightly at the nurse, suddenly optimistic.

“You seem excited." The nurse remarked. She wasn't exactly forceful. But her push was stern as she led him into the doctor's office. KJ couldn't help sneaking a glance back. Cole resumed his position on the couch, leaning back, legs dangling over the side with his DS pressed against his lap. But the boy was smiling. 

KJ followed the nurse into the office, but the second the door closed quietly behind him, he bent over and gritted his teeth. A blunt axe was splitting his skull in half. He tried to stand, but the sudden jolting movement reverberates in pain in his head as if he was a clapper in a bell hitting the sides over and over. Tears sprung to his eyes, and this time he let them fall. There was no point in hiding them anymore; hiding the pain that was slowly killing him; a constant presence. 

When KJ dared a glance up, the overhead ceiling lights looked wrong. Far too bright. He could barely stand to look at them, with coloured halo's looking like they were pulsing in sync with his beating head.

Suddenly the doctor was at his side, except when KJ managed to weakly look up, his vision was blurred. It felt like he was underwater. The pain was stab stab stabbing at his head, and he let out a cry, feeling his knees knock into the carpeted floor, his head hanging as he pressed it into his palms.

Stop. He begged the monster in his head, eating away at him. 

“KJ?" there was a man's voice. He tried to answer, but the pain was too much. It seemed to be coming in waves. First there was the dull throb, then the slashes, then- then whatever this was. He sobbed into his hands, uncaring how lame he looked. He felt hot tears sliding down his cheeks, his stomach churning. He knew this feeling. He should be used to it by now, and normally he just let it happen. But not this time. He didn't want to forget his new friend. He didn't want to forget his first time playing a Nintendo DS. There were probably many times before, but he had forgotten them.

"No!" he mumbled. No, I don't... I don't want to forget!"

There was a sudden piercing screech that rang out in his ears that caused the scream in his throat to die away, and he let out a shriek instead, slamming his hands over his ears to try and block it out. But it was inside him. It was inside his head! 

He clawed at his hair, raking his fingernails up and down his face. But nothing seemed to be working. The noise continued. A low and piercing shriek which tore into his brain.

"Make it stop!" he cried. "Make it stop...make it stop...make it-" 

He was halfway though the third mantra, before the noise did stop. But so did everything else. The memory he was trying so hard to cling on to, the thoughts buzzing around his brain- and the pummelling pain scorching his skull. It all stopped.

KJ was left confused and disoriented, sitting on his knees. There was nothing. His mind had gone completely blank, and he was left wondering why he could taste his own tears on his tongue, why his throat was aching as if he had been screaming. His head jolted up, and he winced when his neck complained at the sudden movement.

His vision was blurry, and when he let his gaze roll lazily around, he found himself to be in what looked like a doctors office. There was a reclined chair, a desk, and...KJ nearly jumped in fright and shifted backwards on his knees when he saw the man. 

He looked young, kind. He had close cropped brunette hair and casual jeans and T-shirt. There was a pair of black-rimmed glasses sitting on the edges of his nose.

"Hello, young man." The man smiled at him. "I'm Doctor Mathias. It seems like you've just had one of your episodes."  
  


* * *

TRANSCRIPT: 2

  
FILE: 7H37

  
DATE: 07/05/2012

  
SUBJECT: K. A

  
AGE: 12

DR. MATHIAS: THAT'S IT, KJ. DRINK THE WATER. YOU'LL FEEL BETTER.

APA: I DON'T UNDERSTAND. WHAT HAPPENED?

DR. MATHIAS: IT'S OKAY, YOUNG MAN. YOU JUST HAD ONE OF YOUR EPISODES. JUST BREATHE.

APA: EPISODES?

: YOU LOST A CHUNK OF YOUR MEMORY SUDDENLY AND IT DISORIENTED YOU. THAT'S ALL. THERE'S NO REASON TO BE ALARMED. KJ, TO SAVE YOU THE PAIN, NEXT TIME DON' FIGHT IT. JUST LET IT HAPPEN. IF YOU RESIST, THE PAIN WILL BE INCREDIBLY UNPLEASANT.

APA: OKAY. I'LL- I'LL TRY.

[LONG PAUSE]

DR. MATHIAS: WHAT IS THAT YOU'RE HOLDING?

APA: IT'S- IT'S NOTHING. JUST A BIT OF PLASTIC I FOUND IN MY POCKET

DR. MATHIAS: DO YOU WANT ME TO PUT IT IN THE TRASH FOR YOU?

[PAUSE]

APA: NO THANK YOU. I'LL KEEP IT.

DR. MATHIAS: VERY WELL. HOW HAVE YOU BEEN DOING, KJ?

[PAUSE]

APA: I'M NOT SURE. OKAY, I GUESS? MY HEAD HURTS BUT IT ALWAYS HURTS. AND YOU SAID I JUST LOST MY MEMORY. SO I FEEL LIKE I ALWAYS DO. JUST OKAY.

[LONG PAUSE]

DR. MATHIAS: KJ, DO YOU REMEMBER THE FRIEND YOU JUST MADE? CAN YOU RETRIEVE THAT MEMORY FOR ME? I KNOW IT'S HARD BUT IT IS POSSIBLE.

[LONG PAUSE]

APA: I DON'T UNDERSTAND. I DIDN'T MAKE ANY FRIENDS. I- I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER WAITING TO BE SEEN.

DR. MATHIAS: THAT'S OKAY. WE CAN TRY NEXT TIME. WOULD YOU LIKE THAT?

APA: YES. I THINK SO.

DR. MATHIAS: VERY WELL. THAT'LL BE IT FOR TODAY. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO TELL ME?

APA: [PAUSE]

APA: HAVE I MET YOU BEFORE? I CAN'T REMEMBER YOU BUT I FEEL LIKE I HAVE.

DR. MATHIAS: YOU HAVE INDEED. WHEN YOU WERE FIVE YEARS OLD. IF IT MAKES YOU FEEL BETTER YOU HAVE ALSO MET THE OTHER CHILDREN OUTSIDE. BUT OF COURSE YOU WON'T REMEMBER.

APA: OH.

[PAUSE]

APA: DR. MATHIAS, MUM WANTS ME TO AUDITION FOR A SMALL FILM ROLE BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER MY LINES. I SUCK AT IT.

DR. MATHIAS: I'M SURE YOU'LL GET BETTER AS YOUR MEDICATION KICKS IN. YOU HAVE BEEN TAKING THEM RIGHT? TWICE A DAY?

APA: YES. THOUGH THEY MAKE ME QUEASY. [PAUSE] I DON'T GET IT. WHY ACTING? WHAT IF I DON'T WANT TO BE AN ACTOR?

DR. MATHIAS: KJ. YOU MIGHT NOT BELIEVE THIS AND SURELY WILL NOT REMEMBER THIS CONVERSATION SOON. BUT YOU ARE A PART OF SOMETHING SPECIAL. YOU ARE PART OF SOMETHING REVOLUTIONARY. IT COULD CHANGE THE WORLD.

APA: BUT I'M SICK. I'M JUST A SICK KID WITH A BAD MEMORY. I DON'T WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD. I WANT TO PLAY RUGBY AND HAVE FRIENDS.  
[SHORT PAUSE]

DR. MATHIAS: I'M AFRAID YOU HAVE NO CHOICE. WHAT WE ARE DOING ISN'T JUST FOR OUR BENEFIT. IT IS ALSO SAVING YOUR LIFE. AND IN EIGHT YEARS YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE NO IDEA.

[PAUSE]

APA: YOU CAN'T MAP OUT MY LIFE FOR ME. I DON'T- I DON'T WANT TO BE SICK ANYMORE

DR. MATHIAS: KJ, I'M NOT SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE SEVERITY OF THE SITUATION. I COULD REMOVE YOU FROM THIS PROJECT NOW. KICK YOU UNDER THE RUG. AND YOU WOULD BE LEFT WITH A DETERIORATING MEMORY AND WILL MOST LIKELY BE BRAIN-DEAD BY THE AGE OF TWENTY. DO YOU WANT THAT?

[PAUSE]

APA: I- I UNDERSTAND. I WANT TO GET BETTER.

DR. MATHIAS: YOU WILL. TRUST ME.

APA: THANK YOU, DOCTOR MATHIAS.

DR. MATHIAS: YOU'RE VERY WELCOME.

[INTERVIEW ENDS: 4:13PM, 7TH MAY 2015]

* * *

When KJ walked out of the office ten minutes later, his head was still pounding and the late-afternoon sun filtering through the windows in the reception wasn't helping. The waiting room was quiet. Only a blonde-haired girl around his age sat cross legged on the bright orange sofa with her head in a dog-eared paperback. 

The only sounds were the click click click of the receptionist hammering away at her keyboard and the girl flicking pages of her book over.

He wasn't expecting anyone to come up to him, since his only thought was fresh air. It was so stuffy inside, the mid-June heat prickling inside him. Plus, KJ always felt weird after an episode. Going outside and gulping in precious breaths of fresh air sounded like a good idea.

Blinking rapidly in the blaring sunlight, and navigating his way around the waiting room, he was just making his way out, his head in a sort of daze when a girl around his age or maybe a year older seemed to pop up right in front of his face and he stumbled back, swallowing a shriek. 

"Hey!" 

The girl looked intimidating, like she could twist words and use them to her advantage. She was small and stocky with golden skin and sleek dark hair pulled into a loose ponytail, a worn grey cap sat on top of her head. 

The girl had bright green eyes narrowed into slits. Though at that point KJ didn't notice her expression. All he noticed was that a girl was talking to him. An actual girl was talking to him, and she didn’t seem to be teasing him. Instead she looked curious. Scrutinising. He stared at her clumsy clothing choice; loose overalls over a faded purple tee and automatically liked her. She looked like she had gotten changed in a dark closest, but there was something interesting, something rebellious about her. 

KJ managed to catch a hold of himself as he realized he had been staring at the girl's ratty red converse for too long. He lifted his gaze to find her glaring at him with questioning eyes. As if she knew him. As if she was about to chastise him for something he had done before. 

He only stared at her blankly, trying to work up the courage to talk to her. She clapped her hands in front of his face, startling him. “Oi, Kiwi boy!” 

The girl seemed agitated, twisting her head to look at the blonde girl, but the second-girl didn't look even glance up from her book, only pausing to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. Which seemed to agitate Overalls Girl even more. She placed her hands on her lips, jutting her chin. “Where do you think you’re going?” 

Her accent threw him off for a second. He really wasn't use to the American accent. Doctor Mathias had a deep set British accent. Which was close enough to his own mother tongue. This girl however, had a pure American twang.

KJ settled on a confused smile, cocking his head. "Hi?” he managed, suddenly finding the patterns on the carpet incredibly interesting, like they somehow mapped out constellations. "I was planning on going home, actually." 

He scuffed his shoes across the carpet, trying to avoid her steely gaze. 

The girl only grew more fierce, but there was a questioning frown pulling at her lips.

"Aren't you going to wait for that boy?" she seemed insistent, practically bouncing on the heels of her converse. While he raked his mind for some kind of answer, she rolled her eyes and blinked rapidly as if she herself couldn't remember. Complete with crazy hand gestures. “Cole, I mean Cole!" she pointed to Dr. Mathias's office. "The boy you spoke to like half an hour ago?"

KJ shrugged, pulling a face.

Okay, Overalls Girl was kinda scaring him now.

He wondered if Falls Children's surgery doubled as a psych ward for crazy kids. He wasn't crazy. He might have a rapidly deteriorating memory but he was not crazy. Not like the weird girl dancing in front of him.

"Lili?" Overalls Girl turned back to her (apparent) blonde companion. "You remember this kid right?" and KJ stared at the other girl. She looked up from her book finally, creases of confusion deepening in her forehead. The blonde offered them a smile, but it didn’t quite meet her eyes. 

“No.” The girl eyed the two of them. She had a soft voice and played with tangles of her hair absent-mindedly. Her eyes were half lidded- almost dreamy. “I don’t know you.” 

Blondie seemed to be humouring Overalls girl. "And I don't know him." She gestured to KJ, who went pink. Another girl was talking to him. This really was a weird day. 

Overalls Girl let out a hiss of frustration. "What are you talking about, Lils? We were just talking!"

The blonde, or “Lils” cocked her head in confusion. "No, I've been reading the whole time."

KJ was suddenly worried steam might actually fly out of Dungarees Girl's ears. "But- we talked! You spoke to me and that other boy!" her eyebrows furrowed and she scrunched her face up like she was fighting to once-again remember his name. "That- that Cole boy!"

Cole. KJ's head started to pound again. Was that the kid he had supposedly talked to?

Lili smiled politely at Camila, and then nodded to KJ, holding up her book. KJ could make out what looked like a glass of milk on the cover. "I'm trying to read. So, if you don't mind..." she didn't finish, only shooting a last smile at both Overalls Girl and KJ before ducking her head, returning to her book. 

KJ glanced at the raven-haired girl for a split second and caught confusion and- and pain? written all over her face, before she folded her arms and huffed, turning back to her main victim: KJ.

"Well?" she surveyed him, her green eyes calculating. She was expecting an answer he couldn't give.

Frankly, he was terrified of her. "I'm gonna go." He muttered, side-stepping away from her. "My aunt is waiting." A lie. He had hours to kill before his aunt picked him up. And it had been a strict 'No." When he had brought up walking home on his own. Aunt Jane had told him that she finished at the clinic around Six 'O'clock. He glanced at his watch and frowned. It wasn't even five yet.

The girl didn't move. Blocking his way out. She stubbornly kept her arms folded, her green eyes narrowing even more if that was even possible. The girl was starting to remind KJ of a cartoon character.

"KJ." She said, and when he blinked at her, unable to control his shock, her lip finally curled into what could be a friendly smile. 

“How do you know my name?" he couldn’t help ask, and she grinned. "I overheard you introduce yourself to Gamer-boy," she explained. 

KJ nodded dumbly. So he had been there before and apparently made a friend. And this weird erratic girl had witnessed everything.

"And," the girl didn't lose her grin. "Your name was called out when you went in to see the doctor."

His gut twisted. This random girl knew more than him and his memory was Swiss cheese. Worse than Swiss cheese; cheese that had been grated and then mixed up out of order. 

The girl's demeanour changed. She seemed to relax and unfolded her arms. "I'm Camila." She said, after a beat. And when he was about to reintroduce himself, she rolled her eyes with a giggle. "I already know your name, silly!"

KJ didn't know how to respond, so he just smiled awkwardly and prayed the girl got bored and left him alone. But she didn't. In the end after she blackmailed him with her last gummy worm, he found himself sitting back on the bright orange sofa while Camila continued to grill him. 

She sat with her feet pulled up, cross legged. He decided to copy her, feeling more comfortable as the minutes ticked by. Maybe she wasn't so crazy after all. She insisted that they had already met, half an hour ago, just before he had gone into Dr. Mathias's office. Well, apparently he hadn't spoken to her. But she had taken notice him because of his 'cool accent'. 

“I've never met an Australian before!"

New Zealand. He wanted to tell her, but the excited smile on her face stopped him from doing so.

She said he had introduced himself to another kid, who she liked to call 'Gamer-Boy' or Cole, as she repeatedly insisted. 

As Camila explained all of this, KJ couldn't help admire her enthusiasm as she seemed to be getting increasingly more excited about something that was chilling him to the core.

"Me and that girl," she pointed over to the girl with the book- KJ squinted at the cover. The glass of milk looked strange. And the cover itself looked- well, it looked like an adult's book. He frowned at the title. "A Clockwork Orange." He muttered the title, and the girl to his surprise, Lili, looked up suddenly to meet his gaze. 

Except she wasn't smiling. There was a blankness to her gaze that scared him a little. "Lili.” Camila continued, her voice breaking a little. "We were talking, and she was really nice, telling me that she wanted to adopt a dog to help with her memory, and-" 

Camila sighs and KJ finds himself cocking his eyebrow in question. "She just...she just stopped talking to me and walked out of reception," Camila frowned. "when she came back, she had that book and she acted like I didn't exist. When I tried to speak to her she ignored me and acted like I had a disease."

KJ cleared his throat, threading his fingers together in his lap. 

"We're all here because we.." he swallowed. "We, uh...we have bad memories, right?"

Camila stared at him. "Yes, but this is weird! It's- it's different!" she lowered her voice, shooting a paranoid glance to the receptionist before looking back at him. She looked deadly serious.

"KJ, this wasn't like normal-" she said. “I'm use to forgetting things," she giggles a little. "That's why I'm here of course, but what happened with Lili and Cole and you- it was like.." she sucked in a breath. "It felt like it was meant to happen, like it was timed."

Oh god, she’s a wackadoodle. KJ thought. But he kept listening. 

Camila continued. She leaned forward, her green eyes wide with curiosity and wonder. "What if we've met before but we forgot?"

Like earlier. KJ couldn't help the thought crossing his mind.  
And then the girl started talking about his short-lived friendship with Cole, just like her with Lili. KJ tried to rake his mind for anything that might have survived the episode. But he came back frustrated and blank.

"You played on his DS for a while," she insisted, and then a weird look crossed over her face. "Wait, you took his stylus! If you still have it, you'll know I'm telling the truth!"

"Okay." KJ muttered uncertainly. Then he frowned. "Wait, what's a -" 

He was interrupted then, by the door adjacent to the office he had came out of earlier flinging open and a kid around his age, maybe a little older than him, walking out with his head bowed, eyes on the floor. From the look on Camila's face, KJ guessed the kid was the mysterious 'Cole' he had apparently met before his episode. At least that's what Dr. Mathias had insisted it was. 

The boy was at least a foot smaller than KJ, dark curls slipping from a knitted blue beanie. He had hold of something- KJ frowned. Was that a DS?

"See!" Camila was bouncing on the heels of her converse again, her gaze glued to the boy. "I told you he had a DS!"

The girl shot KJ an excited look and the glint in her eye scared him a little. He knew by now only after knowing the girl for maybe an hour, that she was compulsive. He wasn't wrong. 

With a swish of her ponytail just connecting with his face making him want to sneeze, she was grabbing his arm and dragging him over to the other boy.

"Hey!" Camila said, getting in the boy's face. KJ felt his cheeks heat up. Even the rude girl with the book- Lili- looked up from her strange book, curiously, her eyes on the three of them.

The boy looked up, startled, his gaze on Camila, and then KJ. There was no recognition in his eyes, nothing to suggest what Camila had been raving about earlier. KJ felt ridiculous.

"Uh, hey." The boy smiled politely, but KJ could tell by the lines in his forehead, the creases on his brow and the curl of his lips, that he was in pain. 

“Hey Cole!” Camila nodded at him excitedly. “You remember us, right?” 

The boy's eyebrows raised. "What?" 

"She doesn't mean that." KJ sighed. "She means, ah..." he could feel the boy's scrutinising eyes on him. Cole's lip curled. 

"Australian." He grinned. "Nice!" and then he was nodding slowly, as if telling himself yep, that was a great conversation. 

KJ was taken aback by the kid commenting on his accent but he shook his head with a nervous laugh and bit back the urge to correct the boy.

"What she means..." he gestured to Camila, who couldn't seem to tear her gaze from the boy. Her lips were parted, as if she was about to say something else stupid. KJ thankfully got there first.

"Camila here thinks, you, ah...we...um...that we, meaning you and me," KJ stumbled over his words, but the boy seemed amused. KJ took a deep breath. 

“That we've already met."

Cole frowned at him for a second, his lips curling in confusion, yet his green eyes shined with amusement. "I think I'd remember that accent." He grinned at KJ, then moved past Camila. "I'm, uh, I'm gonna go." 

He ran a had through his hair, wincing. "My mom's waiting outside." He started to walk away, but Camila grabbed his arm desperately. "Please!" she begged. "Just- just think, Cole! The memory zap! Don’t you think it was timed?” 

"Young lady." The receptionist had finally stepped in, since Camila's voice was loud enough to grab attention from passers by. "Keep your voice down and stop disturbing the other children." 

KJ felt himself shrink back and Cole sucked in a breath through his teeth, regarding him and a slightly hysterical Camila with a smirk. “You two are weird,” he said. “Anything else you want to tell me? Have the world leaders been taken over by space lizards?” 

“But-“ Camila looked to be on the edge of tears. 

“Later.” Cole said, before bidding goodbye with a two-fingered salute, and making a quick-getaway out of the waiting room. He didn’t look back. 

KJ felt like yelling after him. He hadn't had this much excitement in – well, ever.

"He doesn't remember me." Camila looked defeated, slumping down on the couch. She rested her head in her lap and let out a shaky sigh. "None of you remember me." 

KJ wasn't great at reassurance or consoling a friend, because he had never had a friend to console. He ended up standing there awkwardly while Camila muttered conspiracy's under her breath. KJ eventually found his voice after the girl finally lifted her head and peered at him. Her cheeks were streaked with tears. 

“Are you okay?"

He thought she was going to yell at him, but Camila just nodded and smiled. But her attempt at a smile was broken. 

KJ wanted to say more, or do more. He wanted to insist that they were just a bunch of sick kids who had an episode after meeting- but he didn't get time to say everything he wanted. Because when he was opening his mouth, about to gush out his heart and soul to the girl, he looked up abruptly when his name was called.

"KJ?" Aunt Jane was standing in the doorway. She was tall with pale skin and long ginger hair held up in a ponytail. She was still wearing her apron from the vet clinic. "Are you ready to go?"

Camila looked up for a second, her gaze darting to KJ's aunt before going back to him. "Wait, are you leaving?"

KJ nodded at his aunt and then turned to Camila. "I'm sorry. I need to go." He smiled, or at least tried to smile reassuringly. 

Camila nodded slowly, then smiled. One sec." She dug her hand in her pocket, pulling out a black marker. "Give me your hand." And he did, offering it awkwardly. But there was a coy smile pulling at his lips. 

This wasn't Layla from school. This was something and someone he was sure he'd remember. Camila scrawled her name in huge letters on his skin and it tickled. When she finished, he pulled his hand away and admired it, unable to resist a grin.

The door to Doctor Mathias's office opened slowly, a nurse popping her head out. She had a clipboard and glanced down at it. "Camila Mendes?" she called out. KJ swore the girl's eyes widened in fright for a single second. He nodded at her with a smile, and she took a deep breath, flashing a grin at him before skipping over to the door. "Camila," the nurse cooed. “Hello sweetheart." The nurse ushered her into the office and shut the door behind them. The second the door had closed, KJ felt something spike in his stomach. The urge to follow her into the room started to eat away at him. He didn't realize he was just standing there, staring absently at the door with his jaw clenched until he felt a hand on his shoulder. 

He twisted around, finding himself facing his aunt Jane. She smiled kindly at him.   
“Are you okay?" and when he nodded, she grinned, grabbing his hand and swinging it playfully. "How about we get take-out tonight?" her voice suddenly felt distant in his head as his temples started to throb. 

He fumbled in his jeans pocket for his phone, but instead pulled out a bright red plastic stick.

His aunt inclined her head.   
“What's that you're holding?"

He shrugged, “It's nothing. Its just a bit of plastic I found in my pocket." But he kept hold of it, unsure why his fingers grasped around its pointy edge, as if it was familiar. 

Aunt Jane led him outside and the bristling heat hit him the second he was away from the relief of the air conditioning in the reception. "I was thinking Chinese food?" Aunt Jane walked ahead, swinging her handbag around while KJ lagged behind. The sun was too bright. Pain struck across his forehead and he groaned, ducking his head. He still had the bit of plastic rolling around between his fingers. He thought hard back to earlier. 

What had Camila said?

"You played on his DS! You have the stylus to prove it!"

"KJ, honey, hurry up!" Aunt Jane was already getting into her silver Vaux. KJ picked up the pace, but the sun was beating down on him. His headache got progressively worse, crawling across his forehead and the back of his head hungrily. He managed to make it to Aunt Jane's car and climbed in the front. Aunt Jane started the car. She was still talking. He could see her lips were moving but her voice sounded far-away, as if they were both underwater. He squeezed his eyes shut against the pain, but it didn't stop. What had the doctor said? He told him not to fight it, not to panic or be scared. Because it was inevitable. KJ leaned back in his seat and tried to relax. He opened his eyes and leant his cheek against the window. Just look outside. He told himself. 

Focus on something.

He didn't want to forget Camila. The thought struck. It almost felt familiar. Like he'd felt it before. KJ bit back a cry as the pain continued to grip his head in a metal vice, squeezing tighter and tighter. He focused on the car in front, on the old man walking his dog on the sidewalk. But it wasn't working. 

"Aunt Jane." He managed to choke out, swiping his eyes with the back of his hand. Though his stomach clenched when he realized he had smudged Camila's name.

"KJ? Oh dear, is it happening again?" Aunt Jane's voice was pounding in his ears, every syllable was in sync with the bitter throb slamming against his skull. He didn't reply and pressed his face into the cool glass window. "I'm okay." He choked out after a second, when he was sure he wasn't going to puke when he opened his mouth. He winced when his ears started ringing. "Can we just go home?"

Aunt Jane smiled softly. "Of course we can," she rooted around her dashboard. "I have some Tylenol here somewhere. Let me find it. I have a bottle of water in the back to take it with."

“Okay." KJ felt tears spring to his eyes but was determined not to cry. Instead, he leaned his head on the window.

His gaze rolled clumsily over the parking lot, catching sight of a woman struggling with her shopping and unruly child- wait. He sat up straight in his seat and squinted out of the window. The girl from earlier- the girl with the book. Lili. She was walking across the parking lot as if she was in a daze. Her blonde hair twirled and danced around her in the breeze but she didn't seem to care- or even notice. KJ watched her walk over to what looked like a white van before the side-door opened and a man got out, helping her in. 

KJ felt his heart drop into his stomach. He knew that man. The kind eyes, the black-rimmed glasses sitting on the edge of a rather pointy nose.

The man was Doctor Mathias. But that wasn't all. Behind Lili was the nurse who had called out Camila's name. She had someone in her arms – a small slumped girl lying unconscious, her arms and legs dangling limply. It took KJ a few seconds to realise it was Camila. He'd recognise those ratty red converse anywhere. KJ felt a yell building up in his throat and found himself pawing at the lock on his side-door, trying to get it open. The nurse carried Camila over to the van and handed her to Doctor Mathias, who bundled her in the backseat. 

“Aunt...aunt Jane!" KJ's head was still persistently pounding, but he found something to focus on. Which meant for a second, he wasn't thinking about the pain, he was thinking about the fact that his new friend was being bundled into the back of a scary looking van. 

"That girl!" he managed to cry out, finally getting his Aunt's attention. "My- my friend, she's- she's-"

Aunt Jane frowned and leaned over him, following his gaze and then, after a beat, chuckled. "Honestly, honey. You do have a vivid imagination. Charlie Mathias is that girl's father." 

His aunt only frowned at him. "KJ, you have to understand that these aren't normal children. They're sick, just like you. The poor girl probably had an episode and fainted."

He was not letting this go. "But- but the other girl, Lili-" he started to argue, but the woman shook her head. "KJ, stop being ridiculous." She peered at him for a second, her eyebrows creasing in confusion. "Has your head stopped hurting?" he swore he caught a tinge of alarm in her tone.

"Yes." He lied. Except, no. His head felt like someone was carving shapes into his skull. Before he knew what he was doing he was grabbing the latch on the door and yanking on it. But it didn't budge. The boy twisted in his seat to face his aunt. "Something's wrong with her!"

The women sighed. "KJ, drop it. You're going to make a fool out of yourself."

"But-!"

"No buts! That's Charlie Mathias's daughter, Camila. She fainted." KJ frowned, but the pain was too much. Instead he leaned further into his seat, squeezing his eyes shut once again. The reality of the situation started to sink in. He was going to forget Camila, he was going to forget everything. And he was pretty sure something wasn't right. Camila's name was Mendes. Not Mathias. 

As if his aunt had heard him, she piped up with; "It's her adoptive father." And KJ started to wonder how exactly she knew that. His vision was suddenly blurry while a sheet of fog seemed to settle over his eyes. He started to panic as a strange noise suddenly pierced his ears, as if someone had planted a radio directly within his skull. 

"KJ?" he could hear Aunt Jane's voice, but it was much more distant now, making way for the whistling screech suddenly ringing in his ears. He tried crying for his aunt, but the screech was too overpowering- the pain digging deeper and deeper into his head until…

Until nothing.

* * *

  
2017.

KJ wasn't sure how he got in the white room. In fact It was like a doctors surgery, except he didn't remember getting injured or hurting himself. 

His mouth still felt thick, his tongue way too swollen and bloated. His lips felt numb and when he tried to move, he found he couldn't. All he did know however, was that he was lying on a comfortable bed, his usual clothes, casual T-shirt and jeans had been stripped away, replaced with what looked like hospital scrubs. Clinical white shorts and t-shirt. The clothes felt itchy, sticking to him. 

His thoughts were all muddled, but that one seemed to stick and cause alarm bells. Actually, the whole damn situation should have caused alarm bells, but he felt like he was trudging through maple syrup, both in body and mind. 

Every time he tried to sit up, something yanked him back. But he was so damn tired.

Think. He tried to recall a memory before, well before...now. But it was all a blank. When the feeling seemed to finally return to his limbs, he tried lifting his arm, and to his relief it complied with his mind process, which was slowed down- but not completely stopped. He lifted his hand to brush strands of his hair out of his eyes, but instead he found himself scathing his fingers along the back of his head, where he could feel a scratchy material strapped over his scalp.

He let out a hiss when he pressed down on the, on the bandage? A stinging sensation spread across his skull. When he brought his hand back there was a speckle of scarlet on his fingertips, and his stomach dropped into his throat with the realization.

The alarm bells got more intense then, accompanied by a sliver of a shiver creeping down his spine. He had to get out, he had to get away. But when he tried to push himself up, he caught sight of the black seat-belt-style strap holding him to the bed, tightly wrapped around his torso. 

“Hey!” he tried to yell, but his mouth, his lips and his throat- they all felt wrong. Oh god, he couldn't speak. He couldn't scream or cry, he couldn't move!

It didn't matter that his arms were free. The straps were so tight around his stomach that even when he desperately yanked at the straps, they just bounced back, like elastic.

After several failed attempts to try and break out of the bonds that strapped him down, KJ's head hit the pillow once again and he growled loudly in frustration. Well, he tried too. 

Instead, all his throat did was rumble slightly. 

“Fuck!" he tried to cry out, but once again he just ended up mumbling something incoherent.

Think. He tried to say it out loud. But all he ended up muttering was sink which might have been funny if he wasn't strapped to a bed in what looked like a hospital. His voice, whatever was left of it, sounded weird. He couldn't quite grasp it. It sounded almost like it was lingering with another accent. 

Though that could be the drugs talking. Whatever the fuck he had been given was surely messing with his head. 

KJ looked around the room, taking in the spotless clinical white walls and matching tiled floor. It was different to a hospital room. There was no bedside cabinet, no flowers and card or notion that any friends and family had visited. Not even a window. It was just an empty room that was just him, and this damn bed he had been practically imprisoned on.

Twisting his head took effort, but he managed it, his gaze flickering to the door, which seemed to blend into the walls. 

The only reason he clicked that it was in fact a door, was the metal handle protruding from what he thought was another wall.

How did he get here? He tried grasping for a memory, and then caught a flash of something, just a slight flicker of memory. He'd been with his cast mates- celebrating.. 

Celebrating what?!

* * *

KJ felt the drink he'd been grasping slip from his hand and ducked lamely, trying to snatch it back up. But it was too late. 

Whatever he'd been sipping all night had ended up soaked on the posh carpeted floor. 

“Ah, shit." he straightened up, stumbling slightly when the whole world seemed to suddenly swirl around him. 

He felt like he was a kid again, spinning around with his arms spread out, pretending he was really flying.

There were intense bright colourful lights bathing him in warm perspiration that made his skin almost shine. He remembered loud music- and dancing. He had been dancing, and maybe he had been a little bit drunk. Everything had been slightly blurry and off-balance, but he remembered not caring, really, really not caring at all, because all of this was in  
celebration- to finally getting the part of Archie Andrews! 

He vaguely remembered himself screaming those words, raising his glass in the air as the others echoed his triumphant yell in a cacophony of excited cries.

He remembered stumbling slightly as he bounced from chest-to-chests of strangers around him as they threw themselves in the air to a song he was sure he knew, but his brain was too damn muddled to grasp at a name or artist. All he knew was that it was mad. 

"Yo!" a familiar voice yelled. "KJ, get over here!" He jerked his head up, wincing when a dull pain throbbed across his forehead. "Jeez," he muttered, gripping the sharp sides of a table to keep his balance. The voice was still yelling his name, just over the deafening beat of dubstep thrumming from the speakers.

"KJ!" his name was being called again, this time sounding more desperate.

Cole. He looked up, and could vaguely make out the olive skinned boy pushing his way through the rowdy crowd towards him.

"Hey." Cole reached him, flinging an arm over his shoulder, drunkenly. 

KJ noticed the boy was holding a glass of water. "Have you seen Camila?" 

Cole took a sip from his glass but the water just ran down his chin and soaked his white shirt. 

KJ grinned. "Had a bit too much to drink?!" he yelled over the music. But Cole shook his head. 

“That's the thing!" he yelled back, his face inches from KJ's. 

"I've only drunk water all night! I'm babysitting some kids tomorrow!"

KJ didn't answer. The beat was wonderful. It filled him, enveloped his entire body and thrummed through his veins. He loved it. He leaned back, stumbling when he found himself almost tipping backwards. Luckily, Cole was grabbing for him and yanking him back to his feet.

"But it's weird!" Cole's voice sounded far away, or like it was being whipped away by blustery wind. The boy seemed to be struggling to maintain his balance too, and in another situation, KJ would start to worry. But not when he felt like he flying. 

“I still feel..whoa," to empathise his point, Cole this-time, stumbled. And that time it was KJ grasping hold of his arms to make sure he didn't face plant the dancefloor. KJ giggled. 

"Guess we're both pretty wasted!"

"No, you don't understand what I'm saying!" Cole hissed.

"What?!" KJ was sure he hadn't heard him right. Cole seemed to dismiss it anyway. "Have you seen Camila?!" he yelled once again. There seemed to be an element of something that wasn't normal in the boy's tone. It wasn't sarcasm or cynicism, it was...KJ couldn't fully grasp it, because his own brain felt like it had been wrapped in candy-floss. "No- no I haven't!" KJ yelled back, having to raise his voice an octave higher. 

Cole nodded, his gaze momentarily going to KJ's empty glass. "What are you drinking?" 

KJ frowned, looking down into the dregs of his drink. That was a weird thing to say. That's what he wanted to say. That's what the very back of his brain, the bits still clinging onto sanity and reality, said. But he also found himself giggling, the true effects of whatever the hell he had downed, finally starting to make an appearance.

He'd been handed drinks all night. He remembered at the start of the night when the four of them had, at the time, been completely sober, hanging out at the bar. KJ had been talking to Cole about their new show, about how exactly they were going to bring such beloved iconic characters to life. He'd drank a few, or maybe more than a few. Eventually, the talking had fizzled out into celebration and laughter, the actors finally managing to loosen up and join the crowd of dancers. More drinks. Different colours, in different glasses, yet somehow all tasted the same. Though KJ never refused a drink. Especially when it was free, just sitting in front of him with a little umbrella hanging out of it with two multi-coloured straws.

Instead, he grinned widely. He knew the perfect answer.  
"ALCOHOL." was his only reply, followed by another ridiculous giggle that seemed to stream from his mouth. The room was spinning slightly now, and when he cocked his head, surveying Cole, the boy's eyes were wide with suspicion. "KJ," he sounds serious now. Which isn't Cole at all. KJ had known him for what, five months? Since auditioning for Archie. Cole was never serious. Unless he was acting.  
"I think you should stop drinking." Cole sounded like he was trying really hard not to slur his words. And failing miserably. KJ frowned. "Why?" Cole had his eyebrows pushed together, like some kind of Hangman's Gambit was playing in his head, trying to pick the letters out individually to form a sentence. "I think," he started, uncertainly, "no, something is definitely wrong."

For a second KJ hadn't heard what Cole had said, instead taking in his worried expression. His dark eyes, his lips that were torn to shit from biting, his eyebrows, strung together in distress. Then he blinked, coming back to reality, and realized how ridiculous Cole was acting. KJ started laughing. Not just laughing, in fact, he was almost sure he'd fall over if he wasn't careful. “You alright, mate?” another burst of giggles escaped from his chest and he looked up at Cole, the sudden movement making him slightly dizzy, and maybe a little nauseous (which he blamed wholeheartedly on the alcohol.)

However, Cole, confusion turning to frustration, suddenly raised his voice higher than he already had over the din of the room, "KJ," had he been sober, it would've been enough to knock the hysteria out of his system, but still left him straining to contain tiny chuckles. "I'm being serious." 

KJ just smirked and pressed a finger in the space between Cole's eyebrows, effectively diminishing the worry line between them. Giggling, he drawled, "you'll give yourself permanent stress lines with all that nagging!" 

Cole only scoffed and smacked his hand away. He then opened his mouth to speak, but KJ was right behind him, mumbling on about how Cole needed to "relax" and "here, take my drink" and also "loosen up."

Cole smirked, gladly taking the drink, and pretended to go for a swig. Instead, however, he thrusted the glass at KJ's face, the concoction of...something soaking his shirt and hair. 

People turned around to see what had happened briefly, before going back to their conversations. KJ just slowly rubbed the liquid out of his eyes and licked his lips. "Damn, this is a new shirt. Why’d you wet me?” he asked, starting to giggle again, even though he was dripping. "Snap out of it!" Cole growled.

While the giggly KJ tried to tamp his wet locks of hair down into submission, Camila appeared out in the clearing of the crowd, carrying a very, very drunk looking Lili by the arm. 

She was giggling under her breath, her eyes glazed with god knows how much alcohol, while Camila on the other hand, seemed quite distressed. 

“Cole, KJ," she panted, "something's wrong." She let go of Lili, seeming to trust her with not getting lost and ran towards Cole (as straight as she could, she rather stumbled, having had too many drinks as well as wearing heels.)

Except Camila seemed more in control of herself, unlike the other three.

Cole nodded and helped her stand, while Lili and KJ had gone off on a tangent together ("no way, obviously Charizard is the best Pokémon to start with out of the three!") 

“Cole," Camila gave him a pleading look, "help me get Lili sobered up a little, please? We need to leave, I have a bad feeling…"

Cole squeezed her hand reassuringly. "So do I," he said slowly, blinking his heavy eyelids rapidly. "Take Lili to the bathroom, help her out, okay? I got KJ." 

Camila looked concerned, but she nodded and dragged Lili away from the heated conversation over whether Pokémon X or Y was better. 

("No, in Y you can do way more- hey, Camila, where are we going?") Lili seemed distressed. "No, I was talking about Pokémon!"

KJ, now having no one to rant with, reverted back to Cole's side.

"So," he said playfully, "whadja wan talk about? Hmm? Hey- hey Cole, wake up!" KJ snapped his fingers in front of Cole's face, who was now extremely interested in where the closest bedroom was and how much he'd pay just to pass out in it. 

He blinked again, trying to snap himself out of it, swearing to himself.

"Hm?" Cole tried to ignore the fact that KJ's face was distorting slightly, curving around the edges. The Kiwi giggled. 

"Why're ya lookin' at me like that, bro?"

Cole swallowed a sarcastic retort, grabbing the drunk, (and still damp) boy's wrist and weaved KJ through the dancing people as best he could, leading him in (hopefully) the direction of the restrooms. 

Soon enough, both of them were stumbling over strangers' feet, each other's feet, their own feet, KJ laughing like an idiot the whole time. Finally, Cole found a sign on the wall that said RESTROOMS, and he sighed, thanking all the gods he could think of in his muddled state that they hadn't fallen on their way to there. Mostly. 

He'd witnessed KJ fall into a woman's cleavage and whether it was intentional or not (he was sure of the latter) the boy had found it hilarious.

Still holding onto KJ as if he was a child in a theme park, Cole quickly helped him into the bathroom and that was when KJ's feet slipped from under him and sent both him and Cole tumbling to the white tile floor of the building's toilets. For a second, Cole was upset he hadn't passed out, having an excuse to sleep. But he couldn't breathe. The raven haired boy groaned, pushing KJ's lanky -and surprisingly heavy- body off of his own, and cursed himself for speaking (or, thinking) too soon. This seemed to push KJ over the edge, he rolled over and started laughing heavier than he ever had. Or, Cole thought, was that just because it wasn't as loud as it was in the main room?

"Okay, you need to- KJ, for god's sake stand up!" Cole wasn't sure why he was kidding himself. He could barely stand up either.

"What the hell are you two doing? the two wrecks on the floor looked up to see Camila staring at them in confusion, while Lili was bent over a sink, splashing her face with cold water. Well, Cole presumed that's what she was meant to be doing. Instead, Lili was standing on her tip-toes, having kicked her heels off and was staring into the mirror at her reflection like she had just glimpsed into hell. "What am I?" the girl whispered softly, gently caressing her cheek as if to reassure herself she was real.

Camila, master of the eye-roll, patted Lili gently on the shoulder. "You're drunk, Lili." She said reassuringly. The blonde haired girl's expression seemed to break and she burst out crying.

"What are you guys doing in here?" KJ, thinking that this was the most hilarious thing in the world (unsurprisingly) started cackling again. "Cole, why did you take us to the ladies' room, you perv," he chortled. 

Cole ignored him, instead trying his best to get to his feet, and leaning on the sink, trying to keep his vision from both spinning and hazing. 

"Something's wrong." He announced, his voice wavering as he fought to not slur.

Camila was by his side instantly. (wait when did she get there?) 

“Great work, Einstein." She lowered her voice. "Now come on, we're grabbing Lili and KJ and getting the hell out of here," she regarded his sloppy expression and her face fell. 

"Just try not to pass out, okay? This is serious."

Cole stared at the girl. Camila looked pale, her raven hair tucked behind her ears. She surveyed him, her eyes narrowing. "Something is very wrong." She agreed to his earlier announcement. “Cole, tell me seriously. How many drinks have you had?"

If that was meant to be some kind of joke, Cole clearly wasn't in the mood for humour. Even KJ, though he hadn't gotten off of the floor, could see how much Cole's health had deteriorated, though with his own fucked up head he could only think that Cole'd had a few too many.

"He's fuckin' mashed," KJ grinned, and Camila nodded. 

"Oh really?"

Cole, against his better judgement, snorted. "Sure," he rolled his eyes at the raven-haired girl. And jerked his chin at KJ. "Believe the boy whose liver is probably begging for mercy right now.” 

"Easy for you to say," Camila cocked her eyebrow when he had to grasp onto the bathroom tiles to stay upright.

"I didn't drink anything," Cole hissed as he tried to stand up. But his legs betrayed him, KJ starting to giggle hysterically at his dopy antics. "That's what I'm trying to tell you!" he groaned. "I've drank water all night yet I feel like I've downed about twelve spirits." to prove his point, he held his hand out in front of him and squinted, frowning. "Yep, I have around fourteen fingers."

Camila lost her cynical smirk automatically and looked struck. "What did you say?" she too had to lean into the wall to avoid face planting on the floor. She folded her arms across her chest, her gaze stuck to Cole.

Cole studied her, or at least tried to. But his vision was all over the place, splitting Camila's form into millions of fragmented pieces, like shattered glass. He could feel the urge to drop, to just sleep, and it was slowly enveloping him, weighing down on his eyelids. "Urgh." He steadied himself on- something. He wasn't entirely sure of what it was. Just that it was sturdy enough to hold his crumbling form. 

"I said, 'yep, I have fourteen fingers'."

"No. No, not that." Camila suddenly looked distressed. She herself seemed to have trouble standing up. The restroom lights illuminated her face in a sickly glow as she bent down and yanked her heels off, placing them on the basin. They were killing her feet. "Okay, so Cole said he hasn't drunk anything, I swear Lili has been too busy dancing tonight," Camila's eyebrows bunched together in confusion. "The only one who's drank enough to get completely wasted is KJ." She turned to him to further her point, and the boy, from his place on the floor, just shot her a sickly grin.

Lili had stopped bawling and turned away from eyeing her reflection in the bathroom mirror to face the three of them. "Is someone going to tell me why there's..." she seemed to be counting as her lips quivered. "fucking colours and space shit everywhere?"

Cole who was struggling to stay upright, his hands scratching at the walls as he clung for dear life, KJ lying on his back with a dopey grin on his face, and Camila, who seemed to be scrutinising all of them, just let out a shaky sigh. Lili held her head and groaned. 

"Wow, I've really outdone myself tonight." She mumbled, sinking to her knees and wrapping her arms around them, resting her head in her arms. "I think I'm gonna sleep." She murmured into her dress.

"Hey.” Cole's state didn't exactly stray from Lili's, but he managed to crawl over to her and gently force her head up. She was limp, her head bumping against her chest every-time he let go. "Hey!" he hissed, shaking her back to semi-awareness. "Hey, try and stay awake okay?" he sat with her, squeezing his body against hers as the two of them sat cross-legged with heavy eyes. Her blonde hair splayed across her sweaty forehead. Cole managed to sit her upright and she smiled softly at him, giggling once again. "Remind me never to drink again." She slurred.

"That goes for you too, KJ," Cole turned his head, wincing. Even the simplest action required a great amount of effort. KJ grunted in reply. Which he guessed was a reply.  
"The fuck did we drink?" 

Cole sucked in a breath between gritted teeth, leaning his head on Lil's shoulder.

"No." Camila said softly. She seemed to grab the other's attention then. "No, no you're not drunk," She murmured. Camila traced her own lips with her finger. "You're drugged." 

And then she turned to the others, her features twisted. "I think," she said thickly. "I think we've been roofied."

"Roofied?" Cole choked out a laugh.

"Shh!" Camila hissed. She wandered over to the door, pressing her ear against the cool metal. It felt pretty good against her flushed skin. After a beat, Camila took a breath and straightened up, turning to the others. "Something really weird is going on. I really, really don't like this."

"Call the ghostbusters." KJ offered drowsily.

"What are you trying to say?" Lili mumbled into her arms.

"I'm saying," Camila lowered her voice while KJ pulled himself into a sitting position and Cole stumbled around trying to helping Lili to her feet. "My mom works in medicine and she once told me that date-rape drugs, or rohypnol, were pretty easy to detect. Anyone who took them experienced the same symptoms." 

KJ started to laugh again. "So you're saying my fucking spleen is going to end up on the black market?!" 

“What?” Lili's voice broke as she started to sob into her lap. “I don’t want to lose my spleen!” 

"Wait, does this mean I'll be a millionaire?" KJ at this point was talking to himself. "Can you live without a left lung?"

"That's not how human anatomy works, KJ." Cole deadpanned, his eyebrows furrowing. "Wait, did you just say you're okay about being sold on the black market?!"

KJ hummed. If I get the cash, and there’s enough of me to spend it.”

Lili continued to sob into her arms. “Stop! You’re freaking out!” 

Camila jumped in, irritation and annoyance darkening her tone. "Nobody is getting sold on the black market,” she said through an exasperated breath. “Shut up!” 

And they did.

Cole, seemingly hanging onto his sanity, nodded at her to continue, wincing and navigated back to her worrying theory. "So, what, you think someone's slipped something into our drinks?"

Camila didn't answer. 

“Guys." Lili looked up suddenly. She was refusing to get up to Cole's irritation. She still sat on the floor. “I can't hear music anymore."

KJ joined in. He was leaning against the brick tiles, his head tipped back as he swayed to a non-existent beat. "Maybe we're dead." He giggled. He pinched himself and winced, smirking lazily. "Nope, still alive."

"Shut up, KJ." Lili grumbled. She lifted her head, glassy eyes on Camila. "What do we-?" she hiccupped. "What do we do?"

Camila let out a breath of relief. She had everyone's attention. For now. "My mom said that Rohypnol shows up as a sort of cloudy blue colour that can be identified in someone's saliva."  
Cole scoffed. "Since when?! Weren't date-rape drugs eradicated after 2015?” he idled on the floor after giving up trying to stand up. His head was hanging. Then he lifted his gaze with a smirk. “Besides, who the hell would drug us four?"

Camila choked out a laugh, but a sudden shriek of pain edging its way across her forehead ended it abruptly.. "Don't you mean why us three?" she said, rubbing irritably at her head and motioned to herself, KJ and Lili. "You're already pretty well known." 

Then when another wave of pain hit, she bit into her lower lip against a cry. "Are any of you guys getting these..." she hissed through gritted teeth when it happened again. Several flashes of pain. Pain she had never, ever experienced before. "headaches?" 

Though she was pretty sure she was speaking to dead air.   
Cole, KJ and Lili only stared back at her – perplexed smirks on their faces.

Cole scoffed again. "Seriously? It was an advert for car insurance!" he started to giggle, a lackadaisical attitude slowly seeping into his thought processes. Camila had to rake her fading memory for what exactly she had said prior. Ah, right. Car Insurance.

Cole wasn't that famous. Maybe she had over-exaggerated it slightly. He was just the kid on the weekend car insurance commercials.

Bring your car down to Wayne's Motors now!

Because Wayne is ALWAYS in your lane!

There was a jingle that went along with it that had once again neatly sandwiched itself between her thoughts and began to play on repeat. She shot Cole a glare through her fingers. "That damn jingle."  
He only smirked back. "It's haunted me ever since."

Camila giggled for a second, before finding great interest in the ceiling tiles. And snapped herself out of it, sighing and planted her head in her hands. "Man, my head hurts." She grumbled, raking her fingernails down her cheeks. As if that would stop the pain. She groaned when KJ rolled over onto his back and the stench of booze filtered in through her nose and nearly made her gag.

But something suddenly hit her. Not just the stale smell of alcohol from KJ. Something he had said earlier. Something she had skipped over. Ignored.  
"Shit, my head's fucking killing me," KJ had grumbled into what had must have been his twentieth cocktail earlier. She'd ticked it off as a pre-hangover brain blast. But his words settled into her mind.

Come on, snap out of it. She blinked away the pain and overwhelming exhaustion flooding her brain, and raked her memory for anything else. But there was nothing. Lili and KJ looked like they had nodded off.

Cole was quiet.

Camila's head was a spinning top now. With a groan she lifted her head and blinked rapidly through blurry vision. "Cole?" she mumbled. She was too dizzy to move. "are you..." Camila shook her head and squinted in front of her. Her vision was foggy and disorienting. All she could make out was the boy's slumped form as he still leant against the basin at Lili's side. "are you okay?"

She was almost sure she had lost him too before he let out a loud groan and there was movement shifting in her vision. "On a scale from one to ten?" the boy grumbled, trying to sit up. In the end he managed it, but only just. It took everything in him to keep his head up. He let out a short, hysterical laugh. Which might have set her off too, if it wasn't for the brewing nausea. "That'd be a big fat zerooooooooooooooooo," he waved one hand around to emphasize his point. It was just a fast-moving blur.

When she didn't reply, her heart sinking into her stomach, he managed to straighten up with some kind of awareness, regarding her with heavy lidded eyes. "Okay, so maybe we WERE drugged." he muttered, his voice slurring slightly. Then he sat on his back on his knees, yawning. She could tell he was minutes, possibly seconds away from going completely under. Cole quirked an eyebrow at her as if she could wave her magic wand and fix all of this and asked the burning question twisting her own gut, in his own slurry post-spiked-cocktail-state. "Wha-do-wedo?"

Camila was floundering. Her thoughts didn't make much sense. "Spit." She said softly, and then louder. "Spit on the floor." When Cole chuckled and started to badly word a joke which wasn't going anywhere in his state, she leaned forward, her whole world twisting sideways as she grabbed onto his arms. At least she thought she grabbed them. Whoa. Her mind sang. Look at all the colours!

"Listen to me." She said sternly. Lili and KJ were out of it. She only had him left. Her voice broke. "Please, just for once in your life can you be serious and just spit on the damn floor?!"

He stared at her for a few seconds through glassy eyes, and she panicked, thinking he had slipped into slumber. "Cole?" she murmured, cocking her head. Prettttyyyyy colours. A sudden explosion of light splintered her vision and Cole's face suddenly became a visual extravaganza.

No. She shook her head. Fighting it. As quickly as it had come, the explosion of colours and luminous shapes dispersed from her vision and she was once again staring directly into Cole's bleary eyes. She twisted around, grabbing her bearings. Clinical white walls and floor. Bathroom. Toilet. Club bathroom. Lili and KJ were still sprawled on the floor completely out of it.

Focus. She told herself. Cole's pupils were dilated, his gaze dead-set on her. But there was nothing there. No spark. He was staring straight through her.

"Cole!" to her surprise, he jolted awake, automatically nodding as if he had unfinished business. 

She felt an electroshock of relief when his eyes looked to be back to normal. Though they were wide with confusion and terror. But that was better than dull and lifeless. "Right, o- okay." 

He had gone a sickly shade of pale and perspiration sheeted his forehead. Cole straightened up with a groan, swiping his sweaty face with his shirt sleeve. "Drugged." He let out a harsh laugh, running his hand through his hair. "Who would have thought, right?"

Camila couldn't help noticing his tone was edging on hysteria. She didn't have much time.  
"Spit." She said shakily. It suddenly hit her why she wasn't doing it herself. But whatever the four of them had been dosed with it seemed to be affecting Cole a lot more than her.

Cole didn't argue. He leaned forward and spat on the floor, before sitting back on his knees. She thought he was nodding off again before he turned to her, and for once he didn't look like he was joking around. This time he looked scared out of his mind.

"What's going to happen to us?" his voice was soft. Suddenly he wasn't a blossoming twenty year old actor, he was a little kid again. A confused and scared little kid. "Why us?"

"It'll be okay," Camila leaned over apprehensively, her gaze stuck to the small pool of bubbled saliva. "Don't worry, we're getting out of here." she muttered to the other boy and leaned in close to the small pool on the floor, squinting, her eyes narrowed, tongue sticking out in concentration. But even when she squinted her eyes and blinked rapidly, there was nothing weird about the spit.

There was no discolour or bluish tinge to it. It was just clear bubbly liquid. Camila let out a hiss of frustration. Pound, pound, pound went her head.

Cole, playing his usual role as sceptic, was still somehow grinning. But that might have been something to do with mind altering drugs. He bent over his spittle, which seemed to squirm on the tiled floor.

"What are we looking for again?" he glanced up to meet her gaze. Camila glowered at him. "You'll know it when you see it," she said, her tone darkening. But there was something deeply embedded in her voice. She was trying to hide the fact that she too was struggling to string simple sentences together. It was a challenge, but somehow she managed it. Camila frowned at Cole, and suddenly she knew. She knew what Lili and KJ were experiencing, because suddenly vibrant yellows and mellow pinks were washing across her vision, plunging Cole's face into a visual explosion once more. Brightly coloured prisms dancing erratically, even when she squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't know which was worse. The hallucinations or the pain.

Here we go again.

"Camila?" she could hear Cole's voice, but that was about it. The rest of him had split into some kind of Tim Burton fever dream.

She just wanted to sleep. Yes, ah. The thought of it made her smile lazily. She muttered something unintelligible before pressing her face into her lap and breathed deeply. She remembered seeing a Facebook post- or was it Twitter? She couldn't remember. One of her followers had tweeted step-by-step instructions on how to deal with pain.

Step 1. The pain is in a box. Lock it far away. Place it in a wardrobe, then a full house- then a football stadium. Of course she'd laughed at it. How ridiculous.

But she found herself visualising the pain which was slamming into her like turbulent waves crashing down on rocks. The pain was in a chest- a novelty chest like a pirate's chest. She wrapped chains around it, fitting lock after lock and twisting key after key in rusty metal.

"Camila." Cole's voice bounced through her ears, reverberating against her spine. She heard it in several languages at once, all getting progressively louder.

"Mmm?" she managed to murmur. Time seemed to be an illusion in the state she was in. She wasn't sure if it had been ten seconds or ten minutes before she lifted her head, eyelids heavy and insistent on her sleeping.

Camila tried to straighten herself up, but it was like her body refused. She leant her head back, pressing herself against the cool tiles. She was half aware that Cole was now curled up next to Lili, and Lili was still a mismatched tangle of limbs and sunshine hair. Her vision swam and she swallowed thickly as the world around her, the tiny bathroom they had found themselves in, seemed to finally set into focus splintering through an implosion of vastly fading colours. Dull blue and bright yellow smears made way once again for too-white tiles. The foggy fairy dust hanging in her vision was starting to fade and she blinked it away eagerly.

Camila eventually found herself dumbly staring at the pool of saliva at Cole's feet. She winced when her perception seemed to shift. Just for a second there was no crazy colours. It was just her breathing heavily as she fought to grasp onto something, anything, to anchor herself to reality. And that's when she saw it. Right where Cole had spat, there was something squirming, something moving on the floor. She inwardly cringed.

"Cole." She whispered. She could feel her body start to shake, her hands trembling by her sides. He was still an unmoving sprawl of limbs on the floor. His head was tipped back, his eyes closed. Just before she was about to freak out and started screaming, his eyes fluttered open. Awake and aware. "Anything interesting in my spit?"

Camila found herself leaning forwards on her hands and knees to get closer. But no matter what she did, whatever angle she perceived it from, it didn't change or burst into some colourful fanfare in front of her eyes. No, this was real. This was real and she was staring at it. She couldn't answer him.

"Cole.” Her lips mouthed her friends name, but her voice was choked at the back of her throat.

Bugs. Tiny mechanical bugs skittering across the tiles as their tiny legs went haywire. Camila blinked, thinking it was whatever the hell she'd be dosed with playing with her head. But the bugs wouldn't dissipate from her vision. No matter what, they were still there, scrambling across the floor as they fought to stay alive in this dangerous world they have suddenly been subjected to.

"Oh.." she heard herself say softly. She was on her feet then, stumbling as her arms flew out, grasping for some kid of leverage. But there was nothing to grasp onto. Only the bathroom walls that she was sure were a million miles away. Camila swayed, her vision splitting apart as her heart thumped in her chest. She managed to guide herself to the door, using her hands as grips on the bathroom tiles. 

“Cole!" her throat couldn't conjure a shriek, but the fear in her voice was enough to kick-start his muddy mind into some kind of awareness. "What?" he managed to sit up again, and he turned to her, his lip curled. "Can you stop yelling? It's going right through me."

Camila sat in front of him, trying extremely hard not to fall on her backside. "Cole." She grabbed his shoulders. "Look at me. Don't freak out okay?"  
He stared back at her, confusion igniting his green eyes. "Well now you've both intrigued and scared me. What is it?"

But then his eyes were suddenly on the tiny black squirming masses on the tiles as they rolled around on skittery legs. 

And then Cole was wide-awake, shakily raising to his feet. Except his legs didn't seem to want to comply. Camila had to hold his weight as she struggled to even hold her own. "What the-" he swallowed and looked like he might gag. Then his gaze flickered to Camila and he only stared at her. "What the fuck are they?!" he hissed. 

Camila, still shaking, opened her mouth to try and offer an explanation that didn't sound completely insane, but the boy suddenly opened his mouth and let out a yell. "Oh god, did they.." he was stumbling backwards drunkenly.  
"Did they...did they come from me?!"

Camila slammed a hand over his mouth at his sudden yell, and he only muffled what she guessed were profuse swear words. "Be quiet!" she hissed, dragging them both to the floor. 

"What..." Cole was scrambling around the floor on his knees, clearly distressed. "What the hell are those things?!" 

Camila ignored him, shuffling over to Lili and KJ.

Camila froze then. Her heartbeat was thrumming in her ears. Voices. Low and hushed but they were definitely coming from outside.

Cole noticed. "What?!"

"There's..." Camila swallowed the vomit crawling up her throat. She looked Cole dead in the eye. "There's someone outside." She whispered and the boy didn't need to be told twice. He groaned, scrubbing his hands over his face. "This isn't happening."

Camila crawled over to the other girl who had dozed off. "Help me get them up!" she hissed. She slapped Lili's face enough to knock her out of it. "Lili. Hey, Lili. You need to get up now!"

Cole was kneeling by KJ. "Hey," He hissed loudly, shaking his friend. "KJ, if you can hear me, you need to snap out of it!" 

But neither Lili nor KJ moved. Camila twisted around and met a look she had never seen on Cole's face before. Terror. 

Complete terror.

"They're completely out of it." Cole hissed. "How are we going to get them out?!"

At the sudden sound of hushed voices coming from outside the door, Camila scrambled, grasping Cole's arm for dear life. She was sure her heart was going to explode out of her chest. "Get- get down!" her voice was shaky as she swallowed her fear and curled herself into the foetal position on the ground. Cole, still hissing out verbal question marks, eventually copied her. The two of them lay, curled up together, breathing heavily as the hushed voices got progressively louder. Camila held her breath. When Cole opened his mouth to speak, his eyes wide with fright, she gestured her eyes to the door with her gaze and he seemed to understand. He let out a quivery breath. 

"What's happening?" he managed to hiss.

Camila only held a shaky finger to her lips, her eyes widening when the door suddenly flung open. Both of them jumped in fright. Camila gently rested her head on the cool floor, making sure her hair hid her face. Cole stayed absolutely still. Though she could still hear his panicked gasps for breath.

They can't see me. Camila told herself. Assured herself. They can't see that I'm awake!

"Jesus," a rough voice grunts, his voice sending the hair prickling on the back of her neck. She had just enough time to make shaky eye-contact with Cole, who was staring right back at her with his head in his arms. 

Camila pressed her cheek further into the slippery floor, hiding her face as more footsteps surrounded the four of them. Her heart splintered. They were trapped. "I said make these kids loopy, not fucking comatose!" A voice hissed. To what she presumed were backup. She felt them towering over her, their breathing ragged and husky. She longed to risk a peek. Just to see who exactly she was up against. But her mind had other plans. 

She swallowed a sob and squeezed her eyes shut, hiding her face in her hair. Concentrate. She hissed to herself mentally. The only way she was getting herself and the others out of this was staying calm and accessing the situation.

"Looks like we gave them too much XA100." Another voice. Female. Camila could sense the woman was staring down at her. There was a buzz of static that nearly made her jump, before she reminded her body that she couldn't move a muscle and she clenched her fists, tensing her arms and legs.

"Can we lower the dosage for XA100 on Apa, Reinhart, Sprouse and Mendes please." there was a short pause before another hiss of radio static screeched through the silence, accompanied with a male voice who only said one thing. "Got it. Is that 50mg of XA100 you want instead?"

Gruff-voice scoffed. "Who thought it was a good idea to give them 1000mg?" Camila felt him kick her in the back and she fought to stay still. "They're as good as dead!"

Don't move. She told herself. Don't breathe.

"Affirmative." The female's voice brought her momentary relief. The woman's tone took on an edge of annoyance. "Is it really necessary that we need their written consent? They're not even minors."

"Parker, you know the drill." The gruff voice once again makes Camila's blood run cold. "What we're doing is completely legal if these kids sign the fucking contract. We need four out of four signatures."

Contract. Camila's head spun. Though it was hardly the drugs anymore. This wasn't a kidnapping, she realised, her body stiffening. This was planned from the start. She was pretty damn sure she had never signed this so-called contract prior. What the hell were they talking about?!

"Yes sir." The woman muttered. Then there was another buzz of static. "Can you hurry up with lowering the dose?" she hissed into what Camila assumed was her talkie. "Harvey wants them back at headquarters so we can move forward with implantation. 

The network is grilling me, they want to start production in the next few days. If all goes to plan, of course."

The woman's words chilled her to the bone and she couldn't resist the urge to take a peek at the offenders, accidentally making eye contact with one of them in the process. The man frowned at her, then flicked his eyes to Cole, who still had his head sandwiched between his arms.

"Hey," he gestured at the rest of his group, his expression alarmed. "They're awake."

It all happened fast. Arms seized Camila, hooking under her armpits, yanking her to her feet. She just barely had time to see Cole being dragged up in a similar fashion, before she herself was shoved toward the door, and into the main room once more.

She managed to catch Cole's eye as he was roughly dragged out of the bathroom, and he only offered a terrified look, his lips parting as if to speak. 

She noticed his eyes were clear of the mist from the drugs. She corrects herself. From the bugs. Cole was awake and looked ready to fight back.

No. She said with her eyes. She made sure she insinuated it clearly that acting out was a bad idea. They were surrounded and it was, what? Four drugged up kids against at least five older and chunkier soldiers. 

Camila noticed an emblem emblazoned on each jacket over the heart.

That symbol...

It didn't make any sense. Camila couldn't help wondering. Why were her and Cole aware enough to know what was happening, but Lil and KJ were still in their own bubble of happiness?

"Where are we going now?" Camila could hear KJ still giggling behind her despite the gravity of the situation they were in. He was stumbling as one of the men dragged him by the arm back out into the club. He didn't resist. Neither did Lili. She padded barefoot mindlessly after the men as they spoke softly to her. "Come on, young lady." One of them growled. "We just need you to sign something and then we're all done here."   
To which Lili grinned happily. "That's good."

Camila's gut swirled with rage and panic. Lili was completely out of it. Which made her vulnerable. If only she could distract them long enough so she could communicate to Cole through eye-contact.

Camila was terrified. More scared than she had ever been. But she had to be tactical. Clear minded. She could feel the candyfloss that had wrapped itself around her brain, slowly starting to detach itself. Her senses came back. She could smell herself. The ripe odour stemmed from the sweat patches on her dress. She could taste the oh-so-familiar tinge of stale vomit when she ran her tongue over her teeth. But most of all- she could see again. Her vision was back to normal.

Camila stepped through the threshold, allowing bright lights to once again wash over her face in a blurry orangeade glow. Just like when she had danced the night away earlier. A sense of darkness came over her as she forced herself to walk forward through a crowd of eyes where every single one lay on her. The worst thing was, was that she knew them. Not all of them. But some of them. 

She couldn't resist a peek as she stumbled after the others. Cole was in front, the woman with the talkie had a clear grasp on his hand and for a second it looked like he was a kid being dragged away by his over-protective mother. Camila could tell the boy was trying his best to stay under the radar, but every so often he would glance around, his gaze hyper-vigilant as he searched for possible escape routes.

The dancers. Camila thought as she made shaky eye-contact with people she had thought were like her, blossoming actors, kids she was celebrating with. They were all in on it. Her stomach was fluttering, her chest aching. She wanted to throw up. Eventually they made it to a corner of the club. Where there was a wooden table and four identical seats. There were also four glasses of water.

"Sit down." One of the men pushed her into a seat and the rich smell of leather filled her nose making her want to gag. 

She ended up being sandwiched between Lili and KJ while Cole sat on the opposite side. Panic washed over her, but she swallowed a cry and forced herself to look down at the white sheet of paper placed in front of her. The others had one too. When the soldiers weren't looking, she risked a peek at the stand-out text on the cover and her heart sunk into her stomach.

**PROJECT CHRONOS- SUBJECT C:**

**CAMILA MENDES**

**"VERONICA LODGE"**

**AGE: 20**

**CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT**

**Subject C.**

Camila felt her world turn upside down. Her blood ran freezing cold in her veins, and she had to bite down on her lip to suppress a scream clawing at her throat. It was an experiment. She was unwillingly and unknowingly part of an experiment. Her head spun. 

But what for? She couldn't seem to take her eyes off of her character's name. Who she had been cast as. Veronica Lodge, one of the main characters in the Archie universe. How did this so-called experiment link to her and the others? How did it link to their casting, and why did she feel like she was deeper in this than she thought?

Cole was staring down at his own contract which was identical to hers except he was 'SUBJECT B' When she caught his gaze, his expression was riddled with confusion and horror. Though he couldn't show it. He simply eyed her, his eyebrow raised. 

He was waiting for her to do something, waiting for her to give him the opportunity to fight back and try and escape.

Not yet. She glared at him, and he twisted his head away, a curl of disgust on his lips. He fingered his own pen, dangling it between his fingers.

"Sign it." one of the soldier's growled, making them both jump. Cole rolled his eyes, or at least he began to- and Camila saw the realisation light up his expression, a sense of anxiety, of momentary terror; fuck, I'm supposed to be out of it.

Camila picked up a black biro where it had been placed next to the contract, and fiddled with it, eyeing the sharp point. They were surrounded. At least ten grown men and women were guarding their table and they looked armed. Which turned her stomach. They were actors. Four actors. Why were they being treated like prisoners? 

Camila rolled the biro around her thumb and fingers while Cole sat, frozen. He was holding his pen, like he had been ordered to, but he wasn't touching the contract. His green eyes were skimming the masses of text which he could actually read. 

Though she knew they weren't supposed to be reading the so-called T's and C's. Because whatever was supposed to be affecting them, wasn't. Leaving their minds clear and able to decipher whatever fate that was being forced upon them.

Camila took notice of Lili and KJ squeezed on either side of her. Lili was slumped in her chair, her chin balanced on the back of her hand as she tipped her head back, staring at the ceiling. There was a dreamy smile on her face. KJ sat staring at the centre of the table, seemingly entranced by the grains in the wooden surface. He had a pen in his right hand, trying to etch his name out using the end cap. A woman standing next to the booth scoffed and wrenched the biro pen from his hand and flipped it before shoving it back through his fingers. KJ was unfazed by her, with the pen in hand, continuing to write his name from where his hand had left off. 'J Ape' he scrawled on the line.

KJ was sitting back, arms folded as if he didn't have a care in the world. There was a cheesy grin on his face as his gaze skimmed over each guard. "I've signed it." He said, and his speech was clear as day. Camila could hardly believe it. How were him and Lili still not seeing how dangerous of a situation they were in?

They weren't. She thought dully. Lili was blowing strands of hair out of her face as she giggled at the ceiling, KJ smirking at the guards. They were still under the influence over whatever the hell was supposed to be affecting her. Supposed to be affecting Cole.

But it wasn't.

Parker- the female soldier who had spoke earlier, swiped the papers from the table and inspected the document, immediately frowning at the boy. "Is this a fuckin' joke to you, boy?"

KJ looked up with big, unfocused brown eyes. "What," he giggled. "I signed my name like ya said."

Parker slammed the paper down onto the wooden table, effectively yanking a flinch out of the four kids, and even a few of the soldiers behind her. Cole started to lunge for the woman, then froze, seemingly remembering himself. He quickly turned the move into a dopey hand gesture, pretending to be looking at his hands in awe, though his eyes flicked back to the woman warily.

"Oh really," she fumed, "last time I checked, your name wasn't 'J Ape,' now was it?"

Another giggle escaped KJ, the corners of his lips twitched upwards slightly, as if he was a child who got caught stealing sweets from a candy shop. "Oh, does it say that?" he squinted down at the paper, then started laughing again. "Hey, it does say that!" He nudged Camila in the arm with his elbow. "Camila, look what I wrote!" 

Camila just gave him a pitiful smile as he cackled at his own mistake, instead glancing up at Parker, whose face was red with rage, blue eyes bulging through her eyelids.  
It happened fast. Too fast for Camila's drug-heavy eyes to follow. The blur of a gloved hand streaked across her line of vision until she heard the sound of flesh colliding with flesh, and KJ immediately jerking backward. Camila's head whipped over to her younger friend and saw him holding his jaw, his cheek displaying a red hand print. He looked over at the woman, looking both hurt and defiant. "Well, you're clearly not a nice person."

Cole suddenly made a noise. A noise loud enough to garner attention, and eyes tore from KJ to him. It took him about two seconds to figure out exactly what he was going to do before he (again) lunged for Parker. But this time, he didn't stop himself. This time Camila didn't bother stopping him or even attempt to act docile.

Before she knew what was happening, Cole's knuckles were connecting with Parker's jaw, throwing the side of her head upwards slightly. Parker stumbled backwards before catching herself on the corner of their booth. The room had about two beats of silence, everyone staring wide-eyed at the supposedly loopy Cole Sprouse, now looking completely sober and eyes filled with vengeance. Parker blinked, realising it was, in fact, Cole who had just taken a swing at her, and gave him a look similar to the one she had given KJ.

"I thought…" Parker's look of confusion quickly passes, and suddenly, as if slowly realising, she's looking at Camila, who was shakily getting to her feet. Parker automatically jumped into action, lunging towards Camila, but the girl was already throwing everything she had, all her strength, knocking into the woman. 

Camila managed to tighten her hands around Parker's neck, and as much as she wanted to squeeze the life out of the woman who she was pretty sure was hell-bent on using her and the others as human guinea pigs, she didn't tighten her grip. Which gave the woman leverage. With Camila stuck debating her morals, the soldier was able to wrestle back into control and pinned Camila to the table, smashing her head against the hardwood. Camila's head spun and she was sure- really sure she was going to pass out. But then she saw something, something thin, black and pointy - just rolling around on the surface.

Pen. Her whirlwind of a mind, reminded her. All she saw was its sharp point, and even when the thought of doing what her brain was screaming at her to do twisted her gut as she lay on her stomach, panting. She listened to the woman's words as the soldier leered at her, goaded her. Told her that her mind was going to be ripped apart and remade into something beautiful. Into Veronica Lodge.

That's when she really snapped. It wasn't the pain thumping through her skull, neck and head like some kind of agony orchestra. It was Parker's words. Because as much as she didn't want to believe it, she had seen the contract. She had seen the name as clear as day.

"Enough!" Parker yelled. Camila felt her heart sink as Cole was grabbed roughly by his shirt collar and forced to sit back down.

The pen was still rolling across the table. Before she could hesitate, Camila reached out and snatched it, grasping it tightly in her fists. Parker hauled her up so she was standing up straight, and pushed her so she was tumbling into the others.

"What is this?!" Cole yelled, finally using his voice- finally questioning all the insanity. "What the hell is going on?"

Cole, who was still fuming, remembered that Parker was a trained soldier and that she could probably kill him with her bare fists. Camila's impulses screamed at her, begging her to give in. It'll save you all. Do it. Just do it! She held her breath as more soldiers began to surround them and there were urgent hisses and commands being yelled into talkies.

"We've got a situation with the Project Chronos subjects." a soldier standing behind Camila hissed into his radio. Cole was standing next to her and he twisted his head to look at her, his eyes blazed with fury, lips twisted with disgust. Camila's chest was aching. So, we attempted to escape she could feel her body trembling with adrenaline. Cole stared back at her, his green eyes screaming; then we try and escape again!

"Do we have their written consent?" the radio screeched back in a hiss of static. Camila's heart dropped. She was sure KJ had given his, Lili she didn't even question in her state. She glanced at Cole, but he wouldn't meet her eye. "The XA100 didn't work on Sprouse and Mendes." the soldier continued to hiss into his radio and the feedback gave Camila an even bigger headache than the one she already had. "Look," she started, and raised one arm in surrender. She made sure the pen was hidden in her other fist. "We don't want any trouble," she said softly. "We just want to know what's going on." and then she looked directly at Parker. "What's Project Chronos?" 

Camila stumbled slightly over the name, but her voice was clear- everything she wanted it to be. She wanted answers and she wanted them now. Her fingers tightened around the pen as she watched Parker's lip curl into a spiteful smirk. She could imagine herself lunging forwards with just the right trajectory to cause minimal damage to the soldier's right eye. The bitch deserved it. And she desperately needed a distraction.

Camila felt her nails dig into the flesh of Parker's shoulder. The soldier thrashed against Camila's grip, but just before Parker could break free, the girl gave in to her impulses and thrust the tip of the pen through the woman's eye.

Parker jerked forward, out of Camila's grip, and started howling with pain, clutching her eye, which still had a pen sticking out of it. Blood dripped from her face and onto the concrete floor below. With her good eye, she glared at Camila, a growl escaping from her throat. "You little bitch!" she hissed, clutching her severed eye. But despite the blood, despite the agonising twist of agony on the woman's face, she still managed to sent Camila a broken smile.

"Just try and run." the woman's tone was taunting. "See where it will get you."

"We need- we need to go," Cole puffed out as he managed to get a hold of both Lili and KJ, the two of them grasping onto his hands like they were scared kids. 

They didn't resist, Lili happily skipping ahead barefoot, twirling in her dress, while KJ clung onto Cole.

Camila ran after them, pushing past Parker and the other soldiers, as well as the 'party guests,' all while dragging KJ and Lili behind them like limp noodles. All they needed to do was make it through the front doors and they'd be free, right? 

They would finally be able to leave forever. That's what both Cole and Camila were asking themselves as they burst through the thick wooden doors back into the cool May night.

Camila looked behind her, watching as the soldiers took after them, running for them as they made their escape. She looked back in front of her, determined to start sprinting, when she nearly bumped into Cole, who had slowed drastically. She ended up slamming face-first into his shoulder blades.

"Whoa, what the hell?!" she snapped impatiently at him. But he wasn't looking at her. He was watching as a tall man with greying hair and a bleached white lab coat stepped out of an equally bright white van and walked forward. 

Camila felt the hair on her neck stand up. The way he was looking at her, the way his blue eyes regarded her with what looked like hunger.

The strange man smiled warmly (although Camila somehow knew that the smile lied) at the collection of confused (and slightly loopy) young people, looking at him expectantly. Lili and KJ with perplexed smiles while Camila and Cole both adopted twin looks of horror.

"Ah, Camila," the man said with a chuckle. He had a strong British accent. "You still have that nasty streak as you did when you were a small child."

"What?" Camila stumbled backwards, the urge to run igniting adrenaline through her. But she ended up wobbling straight into Parker, who happily wrapped her meaty arms around the girl. Cole hissed with frustration and anger when he too was grabbed. The two were brought forward ceremoniously, and the man took his glasses off before peering at them. 

Lili and KJ didn't need to be restrained but just in case they two were grabbed roughly.  
Camila didn't think she could speak. Just looking at the man, the man who knew her name and had apparently known her as a child. But she had never seen him before in her life. "I don't..." she trailed off, glancing at Cole, as if he had the answer. But he looked equally perplexed and angry. Then she was looking back at the man in the lab-coat. 

He only smiled kindly. "You have questions, I can bet." His lip curled with a knowing smirk when Cole let out a harsh laugh. "Well, yeah we have questions!" he seethed.

"What the hell is going on?!"

The man nodded. "Yes, of course, answers." But his gaze wouldn't leave Camila's. Her hands trembled at her sides. "Answers can wait, however." The man shook his head apologetically. "We're already an hour behind schedule after some idiot dosed you with enough X100 to send you to fucking tinsel town."

"Tinsel town." KJ, who was still being restrained, giggled. "Aye, that's funny."

"But there's something I want to know," the man was suddenly stepping forwards and Camila and Cole were automatically taking a step back. "Why didn't the drugs work on you two, hmm?" he poked Camila between her eyebrows, his fingernail digging into her skin. She shivered, jerking her head away. When none of them answered, he nodded, as if reassuring himself and straightened up. "Alright," he smiled. Then to his men; "I want these two dosed with the strongest drug you've got during implantation," he smiled widely at Cole's look of disgust. "Let's see if we can really test them."

Camila felt her chest tighten. "I don't understand." She said shakily. "What is this all about? Why- why are you doing this?" The man didn't lose his smile. "Camila," he murmured. "There's so many times you've nearly figured it out, BUT," he clicked his fingers. "We've been able to cleanly wipe memories and thought processes until the time was right."

Cole scoffed. Camila could tell he was scared, even terrified. But his tone had an icy rebellious edge to it. "Until what time?!"

The man only grinned and mimed zipping his lips and throwing away the key. "That's classified information, young man."

Cole was seething, but he didn't say anything.

Finally the man took on a managerial approach. "Parker, Andrews and Foley!" he barked, making Camila jump. She felt like she was floating, and was sure it wasn't the drugs. The man's words were trying to register in her brain, but she couldn't grasp them. She was a part of an experiment that involved her casting in the Archie TV series.  
He had known her, he had known ALL of them since they were children. And he had made sure NONE of them would be able to remember what he'd done.

"Get Reinhart and Apa out of here." The man's icy blue eyes settled on Cole and Camila and his lips stretched into a grin. "I'd like to have a word with our Jughead and Veronica." At the man's words Cole sucked in a breath between his teeth. "What did you just call me?"

The man didn't seem fazed by Cole's threatening tone. "I believe I called you Jughead." He smiled. "Because that, young man," he smiled brightly. Pearly white teeth reminding Camila of a shark. "Is your name."

Cole scoffed at the man and tilted his head up cockily. "That's my character's name," he spat, "if you really did know us as long as you're hinting at, you'd obviously know that. Unless you were a fake, of course."

Dr. Mathias simply smirked, pulling something out of his lab coat pocket. He fit it over the boy's head, bringing his hands down to cup Cole's head fatherly. "I think you make the perfect Jughead," he said, an evil lilt in his tone.

Cole simply smacked the doctor's hands away from his face, ripping the hat off and throwing it onto the pavement of the pub's parking lot. "Look," he snapped and pointed accusingly at the doctor, "I don't know who the fuck you are, you're not doing this. I have rights. No, WE have rights. And whatever you're thinking of doing?" the boy took a risky step forwards. "You can forget it."

And then he turned to her, and Camila's heart dived into her chest. "Come on Camila." he grabbed for her hand, before shooting the man a look. "I'm fairly sure you're not 'all there' anyway. But I just want to remind you that you've broken around ten laws. You're going to prison for a long time, dude. And I'll gladly watch you rot."

The man chuckled. "You may be right, Cole. But I'm afraid it's rather different with you four."

The boy curled his lip. "Meaning?"

"Meaning we own you."

"Own us?!" Cole snapped. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" he let out a startled laugh. "It's a TV show! All this for a TV show! And that contract you made me sign while high? It's done. Over." Squeezing her hand tighter, Cole let out a frustrated breath. 

"KJ and Lili," he said sharply. "Let them go. They don't want this. None of us want this."

The man pouted. "But they're our Archie and Veronica, my dear boy."

Cole sneered. "They're actors." He said, emphasising the word. "Actors who, funnily enough, don't want to be forced into a shady contract, especially when you claim that you own them."

"I've had enough of this." The man murmured to his cronies. "Get them in the van. We have a lot of work to do, and I'm not having my day ruined by two bratty kids."

At the man's words, Camila stepped back. Right into the arms of a soldier. She squeaked, but their arms were already snaking around her waist, holding her in a vice grip.

Cole, defiant, folded his arms. "I'm twenty years old, asshole. And like I said, I'm not going anywhere with you. Neither is Camila, or KJ and Lili. Because what you're doing is wrong. You can't kidnap and drug actors into doing your psychotic bidding."

"Is that right?"

Before the boy could reply, he was grabbed, bulging arms wrapping around him, squeezing the breath from his lungs. "Hey! I said I'm not doing this! Get the fuck off me!" the cry was choked in his throat when a meaty hand slammed over the boy's mouth, muffling his words. Camila was dragged away, Cole left to bear the brunt of the the man's merciless smile.

"Put him in the van. I want him pumped with enough X to make sure his mind is perfectly compliant, when we insert the Jughead program." The man said, in an almost a bored tone, before smiling brightly. A shark grin. While the boy could only stare back helplessly. "Lovely to have you with us, Cole. I'm sure you'll make a wonderful Jughead."

* * *

  
CLANG.

Jughead blinked himself back into reality, letting the reflection of reality which didn't seem like his own sink into his head. He could remember the colourful lights, the deafening beat of the overplayed songs, and the screaming, oh god the screaming. 

That was the worst thing: a girl and a boy both being stuffed into a van and taken to god-knows-where. And then his own heart-wrenching cry that he didn't recognise, that he was sure wasn't this own.

He felt...trapped. He could feel as if someone was inside him, breaking down and imploding, taking over his thoughts. His hands were suddenly fisting handfuls of his greasy hair, he felt his knees start to buckle. Jughead just wanted to collapse, and he was drowning in his own shock- he felt some else's pain, someone else's fear.

Smack! Jughead's neck snapped backwards as a hand whipped across his face and he saw stars. It was Veronica.

"Jughead!" her voice was a hysterical cry. "What the hell are you doing?!"

CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.

Jughead turned to her, instantly putting his walls up, but he felt dizzy. The sickening feeling of claustrophobia still felt real. "What?" he hissed back. He was sure Veronica was screaming at him. But he only stared at her, another name on his lips. Finally he seemed to snap out of it, and blinked himself out of the daze he had fell into.

He found himself not being able to tear his gaze from the girl as he tried to piece together his jumbled thoughts. Veronica. He knew her damn name! 

So why was his mind insisting on another one?!

In the end he shook his head and turned away from her, his mouth felt thick and his head hurt. "W-what the hell," he muttered to himself. "What happened?" He realised with growing panic that the CLANG noises, were Archie- no, KJ- and Veronica were slamming themselves into the stubborn door which was their only way out.

"Jughead, help me with this damn door!" Veronica yelled, wincing when he threw her shoulder into the metal. When he didn't move, she growled with impatience. 

"Archie, it's not gonna open!"

KJ bristled. "How many more times do I have to say it? I'm not Archie!" he was taking turns with Veronica as the two of them threw themselves into the door that wouldn't budge. He tried again, ramming himself into the sheet of metal which locked them in.  
Jughead's stomach dropped at the boy's words, and finally they seemed to start to make sense. Archie wasn't Archie, Veronica wasn't Veronica and- and him?

Jughead moved to help them, but his head suddenly swam, his throat tightening with pressure. His head throbbed, the intensity of it drawing out a shuddering breath from his lips. He found himself poking his right eye, sliding the corner of his finger over his cornea. It stung and his eye watered, but he was desperate. He had to know.

"Jughead?" KJ was suddenly in front of him, his expression wary. Damn KJ's accent. Jughead still couldn't get his head around it. The boy cocked his head to the side, a spark of hope lighting up his eyes. Jughead saw it and felt disgusted. Who are you looking for?! He wanted to yell in the guy's face. It's only me here. He opened his mouth to say it, but KJ's expression resembled an eager and excited puppy's. 

"Wait, Cole?!" the boy hissed, leaning forward. That caught Veronica's attention. She stopped throwing herself into the door.

Jughead wanted to say yes, for some reason. Even if that name didn't seem real to him. But the thoughts and feelings that had struck him weren't his. KJ was still looking at him hopefully, and Veronica was shaking her head rapidly behind his back, as if the very thought that he too wasn't who he thought he was, absolutely chilled her to the core.

"Nope." He ended up saying, that lilt of sarcasm in his tone that was his, and that curl of his lip that was his. He shrugged and forced a smile. 

"You're deluded," he spat out. "My name's Jughead." And when KJ opened his mouth to protest, he pushed the boy back roughly.

"Drop it."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> only edited part of this bc im sure there's like one reader lmao 
> 
> tho tell me if you're reading <3


	4. Archie

* * *

_Stay calm. Don't freak out, and you can do this._

Aunt Jane's words reverberated through KJ's skull as he stuck what must have been his twentieth cigarette between his lips and jerked his head, sucking in those precious gasps of poison. He kept repeating Aunt Jane's words in his head, like a mantra. Maybe if he said them enough, he would stop shaking. He could barely even hold his script as he grasped it, crumpling the edges as he squeezed it, butterflies flitted and danced around his stomach, twisting his gut into uncomfortable knots.

The smoking had been a habit. He'd stuck one in his mouth as a joke when he was fifteen, lighting it up- and then realised with sudden clarity, that the damn thing actually kinda tasted good. Though of course, that was the nicotine talking. Right now, however, it was the nerves talking instead. KJ took a deep shuddery breath and leaned further into the wall where he stood, adjacent to the brightly lit stairwell he was standing at the top of.

He was almost positive that there was a strict No-Smoking policy inside the building. He lifted his head up for a second, the cigarette still dangled limply from his lips as he scanned the walls for warnings or posters showing stock-photo people announcing they had various diseases because apparently smoking was bad for you. KJ scoffed to himself and took another drag, blowing out puffs of smoke in single breaths like he was some kind of fish. Yeah, smoking is bad for you. He thought bitterly. He had no doubt about that. But at least it stopped you shitting yourself from stomach churning nerves. KJ sighed, wrapping his arms around himself for some kind of comfort.

_Jesus fuckin Christ, man. You're nineteen. Don't be a fucking baby._

The cigarette slipped from between his lips when he nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of the door flying open, very narrowly missing his face.

He stumbled back with a half-choked laugh when a boy with black hair appeared from the threshold. There was a scowl painted on his face. KJ took a step back, and not wanting to get in the way of this guy's bad attitude.

"I hate the smell of smoke in the morning," the guy muttered to himself before eyeing KJ. "You do realize there's a smoking area two seconds from here, right?" He gestured to somewhere in the parking lot that KJ's eyes didn't locate.

"Oh," KJ said meekly, smiling a little. But he could feel his cheeks slowly setting on fire. Okay, so this guy was a dick. "Sorry, mate." KJ turned and started to walk down the steps. His legs were shaking. Though to his surprise, the boy started to follow him. Holy shit. KJ started to feel self-conscious about his walk, and moved a little faster, grasping onto the hand-rail.

"Australian," the boy inquired, and when KJ turned awkwardly, affronted by black hair, which was verging on uncomfortable. He was so close, KJ could smell the raven haired boy's shampoo.

"Um," KJ said, willing the startled lilt in his voice away. "Actually, I'm from New Zealand."

"I knew that." the boy said, after a beat. But there was a smirk curling on his lips. KJ hoped it was friendly. The boy pushes past him on the staircase and danced down each step, as if he'd done this a thousand times before. KJ ended up following him, ignoring the anxiety twisting his stomach. The boy crashed through a fire-exit on the second floor and after only hesitating a second, KJ stumbled after him outside into the rich LA sun. It was a pretty beautiful view, KJ had to admit. The two stood on a balcony overlooking the Hollywood hills.

KJ wandered over to a plastic chair sitting near the back wall and planted himself down. After a moment, the boy followed in his wake, instead choosing to sit on the wall. He swung his legs playfully and dug around in his jacket pockets, pulling out a packet of cigarettes.

KJ couldn't resist a smirk and the boy noticed and grinned, sticking one in his mouth and lighting it up with what looked like a polka-dot lighter. The flame danced around in the cool breeze and the knot in KJ's gut finally relaxed. "I hate the smell of smoke in the morning, but," the boy jerked an eyebrow and stuck the cigarette between his lips, pulling a few drags before blowing out a wisp of smoke. "There's nothing else that'll cure a little anxiety."

The boy smirked at him, before jerking the cigarette between his lips. 'I presume you're an Archie?' He pointed to himself. 'I'm a Jughead. Nice to meet you.' The boy held out a hand and KJ stared at it dumbly for a second, and the boy chuckled. 'Dude you're supposed to shake my hand.'

KJ was confused for a second, before he remembered the audition. 'Oh right yeah!' He laughed a little, and grabbed the boy's hand, tugging it. His palms were sweaty, but he didn't think he boy minded.

'Yeah, I'm auditioning for Archie.' KJ smiled hopefully. The boy nodded, taking another drag. 'Well, here's hoping you get it.' He said. He cocked his head. 'What do they call ya?'

'KJ.' He said, almost instantly. The boy nodded. 'That's the most Kiwi name I've ever heard,' he murmured, giggling slightly. Then; 'I'm Cole.' He introduced himself, a playful grin curling on his lips.

'I actually just got the part of Jughead.' The boy seemed to scrutinise him for a second, tipping his head to the side. 'Huh,' Cole murmured, studying KJ. KJ couldn't help feel slightly uncomfortable. 'I mean no offence, but you kinda look like a douche.' Cole smirked. But KJ knew it was playful. 'But.' Cole continued, his eyes widening slightly.

'Holy shit, KJ. 'It's almost as if you were made to be Archie.' He chuckled. Man, I hope you get it, now. It's almost uncanny how much you look like him.'


	5. Jughead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i got major five feet apart feels from this
> 
> also this is all fiction, apart from the cast names. tho im only using the cast names bc i hate OC's lmao.

* * *

"Why are we here again?"

Fifteen year old Cole Sprouse folded his arms and shot a defiant glare at his mother. He had just the right amount of irritance and whiny teenager in his tone to fool his mother into thinking that he wasn't in unimaginable pain right now. When he was sure his mom wasn't looking, he scrubbed a hand against the back of his head and let out a soft sob. His breath mixed in the cold air in front of him and he almost laughed. 

The way his breath swirled in the air made it almost look like he was blowing smoke. Which he wanted right now. God, a cigarette would do wonders, especially in the bitter breeze lashing his cheeks. The perfect distraction. But if his mom found out about his smoking habit, Cole was most definitely grounded. The pain was always different, yet the same. It always had new ways to make him quiver and bite his lip and physically want to dunk his hand through his skull and yank his brain out. Cole scuffed the soles of his converse on the concrete and held his breath when another wave of agony rocked his head. He didn't want to be here. He wanted to be at home, safely in bed where he could scream into his pillows until his throat was raw, until the words _it's not fair!_ were permanently at the back of his throat, ready to strike at any point.

The sky was a dark grey above the surgery, clouds bleeding into a thunderous black. Rain was already falling, and Cole blinked rapidly shoving his head lower so he wouldn't get attacked by the blast of rain as the heavens opened up above his head.

"Falls Children's surgery." Cole let out a scoff, which may turn into a sob if he wasn't careful. He tipped his head back a little, letting the rain patter on his face, slide down his cheeks. Despite his sour mood, a smile spread across his face. It felt good. It felt good to bask in the cold, even if it was so bitter, biting at his skin. It made him feel more alive, and less like he was fucking dying. Which he kind of was. 

"Honey, they're going to help you." His mom had a tight grip on his hand, which he had tried numerous times to shake off, but she was persistent. His stupid, over-protective, lovely, depressed mom. Looking up at her, Cole's chest tightened. His throat swelled. Cole didn't like spitting venom at his mother, but when she brought him to this place, this creepy ass building he'd never seen before, and yet apparently been visiting since he was a kid- he got a bad taste in his mouth, and the overwhelming urge to act like an ass came over him. Letting out a frustrated breath, Cole bit hard into his lower lip. 

"Sure." Cole rolled his eyes. "Because I needed more confirmation that I'm fucking dying." 

It was the wrong thing to say, and he knew that. But the words slipped from his lips. Word vomit. He didn't hold much back these days, letting his filter crumble. 

"Can we just go inside?" Cole was already pretty much 100% done with today. He wasn't exactly ecstatic to see some specialist doctor who apparently knew a lot about his fucked up brain, and a disorder which sounded fictional. "Doctor Mathias specialises with your condition," his mother had said in the car earlier. When he was doing his best to drown her out with the radio. Which was pretty hard to do when all that managed to crackle on the old stereo was some irritating pop station that drove him up the wall.

He might have been putting an award winning act on, but it was mostly because he was terrified of his mother seeing that he was weak. He wasn't strong as he made out to be. Because if she knew that he too was breaking down, that he couldn't deal with the constant memory loss and blanks in his brain, she would break too. So Cole took it upon himself to act strong, to hide under a facade where there were no agonising headaches rocking his head every single day, that he totally remembered what happened two hours ago. That it wasn't all a huge dark hole of nothing in his broken brain.

He was fifteen years old. His life was supposed to be starting. But Cole was afraid, every day, that it was ending. 

"Oh, sweetie." Carla Sprouse clicked her tongue, her gaze on the chocolate coloured curls dangling in his eyes. He rolled his eyes at that. That was pretty much his go-to reaction when his mother acknowledged his dye jobs. It might have been small, but dyeing his hair was the only way he could keep up with the whole 'teenage rebellion' thing, which was a disease in itself for the world's kids. Yeah, he might be a possibly dying kid on borrowed time, but he was still going to experiment with his hair, he was still going to go through his 'emo' phase, even if it was just sneakily purchasing a tube of dye online and completely wrecking his original dirty brown locks.

Except he liked it. Cole didn't feel like a kid anymore. Plus he liked the way it contrasted with his olive skin. He'd done his best to hide the dye job with a crappy whoopee cap he'd found under his bed, but the second he'd slipped into his mother's car with tell-tale smudges of chocolate coloured dye decorating the lining of his forehead, he knew he was in for it. Except his mother hadn't really been mad.

"I wish you kept your original colour." Carla murmured. She cupped his face, keeping a firm grip and licked her thumb. "It's too dark now. I preferred it when it was brown."

"Mom!" Cole moaned, trying to pull away when she scrubbed with her thumb at the dark stains still fresh on his forehead. He relaxed, though, a smile curving his lips. "I wanted a change, y'know?" he shuffled uncomfortably. "At least it makes me look older." 

Cole glanced sideways at his mother, peeking a glance at her expression, when she didn't reply. "Mom, you're acting like I've dyed it purple." He chuckled.

Though his mother didn't laugh with him, or even crack a smile. His heart sank a little. Cole didn't want to look at her. He wanted to look at the sky, or the sopping went concrete beneath his feet- even the building in front of him. Anything to avoid looking at her hopeless expression. But he couldn't help it. She was staring, almost dreamily, at the tall building standing in front of the two of them. It looked like a small school, with an open reception underneath a block of floors, visible through see-through windows. Cole could make out a silver staircase and clinical white walls.

It looked pretty terrifying, if he was honest. 

"You've been here before." Carla said softly, and he might have sent her a confused glance, but of course he wouldn't remember. That was the problem with having a Swiss cheese memory. "You actually made friends with the kids here when you were little."

"Really?" Cole's gaze flicked to the ground. Rain pattered against the hood of the crappy raincoat he bothered to put on this morning and he watched a growing puddle start to form in the cracks in the concrete. "Was this before or after I was diagnosed with this deadly disease?" he grumbled, his gaze straying on each individual crack decorating the sidewalk. His chest squeezed. Kids his own age. What he wouldn't give to have real friends. But he couldn't resist the sarcastic retort. Looking up at his mother, Cole cocked his head. "Wonderful," he rolled his eyes. "are these kids dying too?"

Carla let out a sharp intake of breath, and that was when Cole realised he had stepped over the line. Again. It was maybe the fifth or sixth time in two days.

"You're not dying." She said, and it was almost a growl, not quite a yell, but edging on one. Cole's mother was almost a foot taller than him with short dark hair curling at her shoulders. She took a deep breath, squeezing her folded arms against her chest, as if to comfort herself. Then she spoke as if she was a scientist, as if she knew the ups and downs of his disease and knew exactly the verdict of his fate. Which she didn't, he thought sourly. His mother knew nothing about the monster in his brain, that was slowly ripping into him, eating away at him until there would be nothing left for it to gorge on. He winced, imagining a parasitic creature attached to his brain. 

Wincing, Cole gritted his teeth. Ugh. Gross. He shook his head of the thought. But that's what it felt like; like a bug. A creature. Eating away at his mind.

"As long as you come here every few years and receive the treatment, the doctor said you'll live a normal life." Carla said. But her voice was wobbling, and Cole hated that. He hated that his mother was trying to sugar-coat and protect him from the truth. 

Cole scoffed again. "Sure. I'll waste my Saturdays, that are dwindling anyway, and I'll still barely be able to remember my ABC's when I'm twenty one."

Before he knew what was happening, she was grabbing his hands and yanking him to a crouch, following in his lead and gently grabbing his shoulders.

"Cole." Carla said softly, and that was when he had to stop the whole edgy teen act. He glanced up and forced himself to look his mother in the eyes. "Listen to me." She murmured. "You're my son, and I will not ever let anything happen to you," after a beat she continued. "The doctor said you have Hyper Neurodegeneration Syndrome. Some kind of memory disease." She laughed a little, the laugh he couldn't help but adore. Cole loved it went his mother laughed. He'd had enough of seeing her all teary and upset because of him. "You have no idea how many times you've been told that, sweetie. But you've got to hold on, okay? Because this isn't forever. It is treatable, baby. You will be able to live a normal life. I promise you, okay?" tears were streaking down her cheeks, and Cole swallowed hard. She gripped him tighter, repeating the phrase that he hated. Because his mother couldn't fight fate. "I will not let anything happen to you."

He had to fight back the urge to break. Avoiding his mother's eyes, Cole let out a breath.

"Can I go now?" he tried to pull away from her, but Carla tightened her grip on her son's arm. "What did I just say?" she murmured. "Repeat it back to me, honey."

Cole sighed. He could roll his eyes, and keep that facade that he totally didn't care what was happening to him, that he was super cool with maybe being completely braindead by the age of twenty. But he was tired. He was tired of pretending he was okay, when he really wasn't. He attempted a smile, which he fought against a grimace. "You won't ever let anything happen to me." He repeated, and his voice broke a little.

Because he was fairly sure that no matter how much she loved him, his mother couldn't save him from the cruel, gnarled hands of death itself. 

Carla nodded, and after pulling away from a hug which almost felt like a goodbye, Cole let go of his mother's hand, and shakily straightened up. The pain had gone dormant in his head, the monster lying wake in his brain no doubt on standby, ready to destroy this memory. Like the others. Like last night, which was a blank spot. Apparently he'd sat on the sofa and played Mario Cart, before having an episode. But he would hold onto this memory as much as he possibly could. Before it was inevitably snatched away. 

"I'll pick you up in an hour, okay?" Carla stepped away, her gaze on the ground. Her voice was broken and she was sniffling. Cole nodded, suddenly finding it hard to swallow. Instead of watching his mom drive away, he turned around, refusing to watch. Refusing to make a memory he was going to forget anyway. Choking on sobs that he gulped down, Cole turned to face Falls Children's surgery. He eyed it with an arched brow, his mom's words coming back to haunt him. "You made friends with the kids here when you were little."

Cole had been home-schooled his whole life, so his place on the social scale was none-existent. Hadn't his mother mentioned them being other kids? They would be teenagers now. 

God knows how many times he had met them.

As for his home life, Cole was constantly under house arrest, and when he wasn't, he was auditioning for random roles at the request of his mom. Apparently his lifelong dream was that he wanted to be an actor when he was a kid. But even if he didn't remember it, and no matter how many stories his mom shared with him; such as when he played outside all Christmas day with his dad's new video camera, shooting movie after movie. It didn't matter that he had a rapidly deteriorating memory, apparently his younger self was so passionate about acting, he'd begged his mom for classes. Which was fair enough. He couldn't remember begging for them. But what really bugged him, was that he never had any feelings for acting. No passion. He always stumbled over his scripts and no matter how hard he tried to channel his love and passion for acting, there was nothing.

If anything, he preferred the technical side. Filming and editing. 

So after years of rejected applications, which honestly didn't really bother him, he finally landed his big break. Well, it wasn't exactly Hollywood. But it was a small advertising company in need of a fresh-faced teenage boy to sell car insurance by enthusiastically yelling at the camera while a jingle plays in the background.

Cole was what they called perfect for the role. He was young, attractive, and had a 'nice voice'. There was something he really didn't understand with the job, however. 

Unlike everything else in his life, where he'd have at least three mind blanks in one day- as if it was completely inescapable, there was nothing. No mind blanks. No memory loss. Cole embraced working at the advertising company because for one it was a distraction from his depressed mother and even more depressing home life, but he also felt normal, a completely normal fifteen year old boy. Who was perfectly sane and not...possibly dying. When the camera was rolling and he was standing there in some ridiculous outfit holding a wrench, or maybe awkwardly leaning against a car with the biggest grin he could muster, he was able to forget everything. 

And for once, it was in a good way. It wasn't a monstrous raging tumour crawling across his skull, obliterating every memory he'd had in the last few hours. It was simply switching off, and being free for a few hours. Free from that constant fear nagging at his head that this could be it. One day he could collapse and not get back up.

The closer Cole got to the surgery, the tighter his gut squeezed. He found his fingers nervously pulling at the drawstrings of his jacket underneath his raincoat and slowed his pace. The whole building gave him the creeps. If it wasn't for the possible life threatening illness currently gripping his brain, he'd rather stick a boiling prong in his eye then walk through those wooden doors. Which didn't seem the least bit welcoming.

When Cole eventually plucked up the courage to walk into the surgery, he found himself standing in an oval sized office with a mahogany reception desk. A tall woman in her mid-forties with a short curly hair and glasses sitting on a spindly nose didn't look up from the dog eared paperback she was reading. She sat in front of an ancient laptop. Every few seconds she would glance over her shoulder at a door near the desk, glaring at it, her lips curling in irritation.

Cole was automatically intrigued. He found himself too staring at the door, waiting for someone to maybe come out, a doctor or nurse? His fingers tingled with anticipation, but instead, there was a yell. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but damn, they sounded pissed. He watched the receptionist sigh and go back to her book, flipping over the next page a bit more violently than necessary.

"Hey!" The raised voices suddenly became more clear, and he could understand them. There was a yell from the room which sounded like a girl- near enough his age. Cole bit his lip, chewing on it, agitated. Was this the group of kids he had supposedly known since he was five years old?

"You can't deny the facts!" Another voice. This time it's male. Cole swears he hears a definite twang in the boy's voice. Australian?

Great. The other patients were fucking crazy. Maybe they'd lost their minds earlier. He cringed when there was another yell. Another girl, sounding like she was the peace-maker, followed by a loud bang. Cole had to stop himself from turning on his heel and walking out. He didn't like the idea of sitting in a waiting room which sounded like a war-zone.

Letting his gaze flicker over the office, Cole smiled a little. At least there was a plant. It looked like it was dying, but sure, he could find happiness in the smallest things. He walked closer to the desk, his chest tightening. He hadn't communicated with anyone but his mother in what must have been months, the thought of even saying 'hello' to the receptionist made him want to throw up his breakfast.

"Yes?"

Too late. The woman had seen him, and was staring at him as if he'd grown a second head. He cleared his throat and attempted a smile. But it was more of a grimace. He hoped the woman knew about his...condition. At least that could be an excuse for his almost unbearable awkwardness. "Uh, Hey." Cole nodded with a smile, stuffing his hands in his jeans. He was just a normal teenager, going for a doctor's appointment. "I'm here to see Doctor Mathias? It's Cole Sprouse." he finally glanced up, giving her a small smile.

The receptionist nodded. "Ah, one of Charlie's patients, Okay. Hold on a sec." she sent him a bright smile which was a bit too fake for his liking, and her gaze shot to the door when another cacophony of raised voices sounded. It sounded like three kids all yelling at once, and the anxiety curling in his gut grew worse.

"Why can't you just listen to me?" he heard a girl yell. The receptionist rolled her eyes. But it wasn't at him, so he couldn't laugh and totally relate. He even had the words 'Ha. Kids these days' on his tongue, before he swallowed them with a mental groan. How could he say that? He was a kid. He might as well have been yelling his head off too.

"Stupid kids." The receptionist grumbled, as her fingers rattled the ancient laptop's keyboard. Cole was sure he could see dust flying off the keys. "Sick or not, there should be no reason for that yelling." she paused, sliding her glasses back up her pointy nose, before continuing to type like a maniac. "I'll be having words with them if they don't tone it down." her voice flew up octaves as she seemingly got progressively more angry, slamming the keyboard before stabbing what Cole hoped was an ENTER key.

Though Cole couldn't really blame her. The yelling was getting louder with every sudden burst of loud conversation, which seemed, every time, to be instigated by a girl. He shrugged his shoulders and felt like telling the receptionist he wasn't a menace to society. He settled on smiling politely with a small shrug of his shoulders, as if he too was absolutely aghast at what those... those, damn pesky kids were doing in there.

'Okay, Cole, you can go in the waiting room,' The receptionist glanced up from her laptop's screen and met his gaze. Cole nodded, but didn't make any attempt to go in. Maybe if he just stood in the reception until his name was called out, it would be better. After all, joining in on what sounded like World War 3 wasn't appealing.

The receptionist cleared her throat. "Young man? Are you okay?"

Cole snapped his head up, feigning a smile. His stomach was galloping, and the pain in his head was slowly creeping back. "Uh, yeah," he managed, before slowly making his way over to the door. He braced himself for what he'd find inside.

The receptionist was frowning at him, suspiciously, her eyes urging him to go into the room. He smiled at her, giving the woman his best, 'Chill out. I'm going.' look, before wandering into the waiting room. Once he was inside, he abruptly stopped at the threshold and stared. The room didn't ring any bells, but he felt like he'd been there before. There were two comfy looking sofas facing a coffee table strewn with what looked like comics. Cole squinted a little. He could just about make out the familiar old school style of the Archie format. Colourful covers and giant bubble text. The room was empty. Cole frowned, taking a few steps inside and folding his arms across his chest. Picking up one of the Archie comics seemed pretty appealing. He started over towards the table.

'Hello?' he muttered uncertainly, before venturing further into the waiting room. He couldn't help feeling on edge. There had been kids in here, he'd heard them.

So where were they now?

Cole took another step forwards. It was almost like being in a horror movie. He felt almost giddy, running off an imaginary script in his head.

_The boy takes cautious steps, noticing the lights above flickering. On and off. On and off. He lets out a sharp gasp, twisting around when a shadow crept across the walls, reaching out for him..._

_And, oh no! The monster has his arm! he tugs sharply, but it won't let go. The boy cries out when teeth bigger than his head clamps around his arm, blood spurting from-_

The fake scenario crumbled in his mind, when Cole noticed someone was actually standing behind him. He let out a hiss which morphed into a choked laugh, before a hand whipped out, grabbing his and yanked him behind one of the sofa's. He fell to his knees with a hissed breath, twisting his head to meet eyes with three teens staring back at him. They were sat cross legged, backs pressed against the sofa's. There were two girls and a guy, all looking his age.

'Hey!' the blonde girl whispered. She had her hair in two pigtails, as if she hadn't quite figured out how to properly style her hair yet.

'Uh, Hey?" Cole relaxed, the knot in his stomach loosening. The kids looked pretty normal, considering they all had a degenerative brain disease. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but this definitely wasn't it.

The blonde was grinning and Cole found it hard not to smile back. Next to the blonde girl was another girl with short black hair in a ponytail, and a guy with messy brown hair falling in his eyes, a smile curving on his lips. The three of them stared at him, with the blonde girl looking like she was about to burst from excitement.

Cole couldn't help smirking at them. 'Sorry, what's going on?' He asked loudly, and then winced when the dark haired girl pulled a face.

'Shush!' she hissed. 

Cole nodded, rolling his eyes. 'Alright, fine,' he lowered his voice, just to humour them. He stared at the three faces, trying to pull at a suppressed memory. He knew them. At least that's what his mom had insisted, as well as a straying thought floating around in his head. 'What's going on?' he whispered. This wasn't what he was expecting. From the shouting outside, he expected a bunch of crazy eyed kids brawling on the sofa's.

When none of them answered, Cole frowned at the other patients. He was getting slightly agitated. "Forgive me for sounding stupid," he rolled his eyes at them. "But, why exactly are we hiding behind a sofa?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 parts going up today! the rest will be up tonight, depending how long it takes me to edit it
> 
> make sure to tell me you're reading!


	6. Betty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BIRTH NAME  
> SUBJECT NAME  
> CHARACTER NAME
> 
> so they're not the cast after all?? ;)
> 
> this isn't edited, yeet.

* * *

Fifteen year old Lili Reinhart wasn't exactly an optimist. But for some reason, the dreary afternoon made her feel different. There was something about being drenched in the pouring rain, when she climbed out of her mother's car which made her feel less dead. Less like a zombie. It made her feel alive. It was cold, yes. It was icy, dripping down her face and sliding down her back and drenching her honey blonde hair bunched into scruffy pigtails. Except she kind of loved it. In fact, instead of following her mother and throwing herself through the huge wooden doors of Falls Children's surgery, she stood in the parking lot for a small second, tipping her head back and letting the rain pitter-patter on her face. 'Lili!'

Her mother splashed through the parking lot in her heels, wielding an umbrella. But Lili stood still, letting the rain soak through her converse. She couldn't help grinning. It was the first time she had smiled in a while. Her mother stood in the lobby of the reception, shouting her name. But Lili didn't hear over the thundering of the shower soaking her. Lili closed her eyes. Willing the pain to go away.

The shock of the rain splashing down on her did nothing to mask the headache brewing in her temples, however. Lili clenched her teeth and willed herself not to cry. She was used to it by now. So why did it still scare her?

'Can we just go inside?' The voice startled her slightly, and Lili jerked her head up, turning in the tumultuous wind, in the direction of the voice. She squinted through the lashing rain and noticed a boy around her age, standing just a few feet away in the downpour. He looked like he was with his mom. Lili heard the woman sigh, some of her next words were whipped away by the wind, but Lili caught a snippet.

'I wish you kept your original colour.' She said, chuckling. The boy had his hood up, but Lili spotted tell-tail strands of dark hair spilling over his eyes. His expression was completely passive, as the woman grabbed onto his shoulders and pulled him into an embrace, Lili couldn't help staring at them for a few moments. Questions burned in her mind. Was he one of the other patients? She watched the woman she presumed to be the boy's mom, lick her thumb and swipe it against her son's forehead. That snapped him out of it a little. 'Mom!' he protested with a laugh, groaning and pushing his mother's prying hands away. 'I think it looks pretty cool.' He said, twirling a strand of hair around his finger. The woman cleared her throat, her tone dull and lifeless. 'You've been here before.'

'When?' The boy's voice was questioning. Lili didn't need any more confirmation. The kid was like her. He was just as messed up as her in the head. Maybe they could become friends.

A thought struck her. Maybe they had been friends. And forgotten each other's existence.

Lili felt ridiculous. But something spurred her on in the back of her mind. Stopping her from turning away and joining her mother inside. The boy was practically a silhouette in the fog, but she felt it already. Not just the stabbing pain in her head, but something else. Something different. But she couldn't figure out what it was.

'Lili!' Before she knew it, her mother was running out into the rain, and grabbing her quickly, dragging her inside, and out of the onslaught into a building that she should have known. That she should have been able to memorise. But instead, Lili Reinhart stood, dripping, in her raincoat as she looked around the place which meant absolutely nothing to her. All the thoughts of the boy outside diminished in her head, as a familiar feeling clenched in her chest. Anxiety.

Lili stumbled inside, reaching up to squeeze her soaking wet hair. The reception area was cosy enough. There was a huge mahogany desk, with a middle aged woman sitting behind an ancient laptop. Lili couldn't help turning towards the door, shading her aching eyes against the bright lights flooding the reception area. She peered through the glass panes in the doors, searching for the dark-haired—boy. Except all she saw was the lashing rain battering the doors. Lili sighed to herself, turning back around. Her stomach twisted when her mother gave her details to the woman at the desk.

'Hello, I have my daughter here for the 3pm session with Doctor Mathias.' Her mother said confidently.

'Please don't make me go in.' Lili made sure she spoke through her teeth, edging closer to her mother. Which usually worked. It meant that her mother was able to understand that she was in horrific pain. Which she was. Lili stood with her arms folded across her chest, her dark eyes pinpointed on the decaying plant sitting on the receptionist's desk. She shivered a little, ducking her head. Her pigtails dangling. Maybe dancing in the rain wasn't a good idea after all. She shivered. Falls Children's surgery reminded her of a mental asylum.

'Don't be a ridiculous, Lili.' Her mother murmured. 'You're just nervous.'

Well, Yeah she was nervous. She was being forced to partake in a group therapy session with strangers. The pain in her head, a sign of an inevitable blanking episode, was just the cherry on top of the cake.

'Mom, seriously.' She muttered, ignoring the receptionist attacking her keyboard, as the woman started inputting data into the ancient machine. Lili winced. The woman's thunderous tapping on the keyboard was going straight through her. The receptionist looked to be a woman in her mid-forties, with short curly hair and a Pinocchio style nose.

If Lili wasn't in a great deal of pain right now, she probably would have laughed at the woman. Or at least mentally laughed. Instead however, Lili tugged her mother's arm like a little child. 'I don't want to go in.' Lili grimaced, jerking her hand away from her mother for a second and letting her fingers tenderly glide across her forehead. She felt the pressure in the temples and building at the back of her skull. Ah. She thought. Here we go again.

Her mom ignored her. Of course she did. Lili rolled her eyes, though Ow. that hurt her. The receptionist smiled brightly at Lil's mother. She didn't even look at Lili. 'Sorry, can you spell your second name?' She asked.

Her mother nodded eagerly. 'Yes, of course.' She said, and then grabbed Lili's arm, when the girl turned and tried to walk away. 'Lil.' Her mother practically growled. 'Honey, I've told you a thousand times. This is going to help you.'

'It's Reinhart.' Lili's mom smiled, slowly spelling out the name. The receptionist nodded eagerly, typing as she spoke.

Lili scoffed, but she didn't say anything. Arguing with her mom was pointless. The pain was worsening in her head, and Lili wondered if this was really it. What she going to blank? Her stomach twisted with nerves. The thought of blanking in public terrified her. She internally squirmed, and couldn't help her gaze darting around the small reception. It was too small. Too tight. Lili gritted her teeth against the wave of agony attacking the back of her skull. She pressed her lips together, stifling a cry. I need to get out of here. Her chest hurt. She felt a sudden rush of hopelessness. Everything hurt. She wanted to cry. Everything fucking hurt and nothing was going to get better.

The pain hadn't really stopped since her last episode, a few hours earlier. She still felt what she had started to call The Monster. It was a steady throb of pain stretching across her skull, eating, eating away at everything she was. Everything she had been, and ever was going to be. Lili had no childhood memories; of her growing up, of her first ballet recital when she was ten, or blowing out thirteen birthday candles. There was just nothing. A huge empty void in her mind.

The pain never went away. It liked to sit dormant, crawling across the back of her skull. Waiting patiently until it was ready to strike, like a hungry tumour; slowly eating her memories, and leaving her a confused shell her mother would normally find aimlessly walking around like a zombie. It scared her. Knowing that she would lose huge chunks of her day, of her memory. Before coming to, standing either in her bedroom or in the garden. When she was younger, her mother had found her standing on top of the staircase, in her usual reverie. She had been so close to toppling down the stairway. Thankfully, her mom had caught her.

Lili had to admit it, she over-exaggerated it sometimes, and hell, it never failed. If she didn't want to go to the store, or the park- or do something normal- Lili would use her go-to excuse. 'I have headache, mom.'

Unless of course that was until she had to take her yearly visit to group therapy. With kids she had known since she was a little kid, yet there was no familiarity, no faces in her head, or names. Lili had no idea who the heck they were. Because every single damn time, the monster in her head had eaten the memories of them.

'Mom.' Lili bit her lip. 'I really don't feel well.' She said softly. The receptionist peered at her, and Lili automatically hated her. She reminded Lili of a witch. 'The waiting room is comfortable, sweetheart.' She said reassuringly. Lili only glared back at the woman, trying not to stare hard at her pointy-ass nose. 'You'll feel right at home here.' The woman says, and Lili caught a certain look in the woman's eyes. Teasing. Like she knew something Lili didn't.

Lili felt tears sting her eyes, and she wiped at them feverishly. 'The other kids are already here.' The receptionist remarked, still smiling. Her mother smiled reassuringly. 'See, Lil! Your friend's are here!'

'They're not my friends,' she muttered. 'I don't remember them.'

'Lili.' She stiffened at her mother's warning tone. 'It's for your own good. It's part of your treatment,' she said. 'Plus!' She still has hold of her daughter's arm. She hadn't let go. 'Who knows, you might remember them?'

Lili felt like screaming. Her head was pounding, her stomach was somersaulting itself into a frenzy, and her mother expected her to play Besties with a group of kids just as brain-dead as her. She didn't answer, only staring hard at the carpeted floor. Wishing herself into a hole. Where she could curl up into herself and sleep.

It was just like the journey there. When her mother had decided to ignore her attempts to get out of the dumb therapy session and cranked up the radio, Lili had gone into sulk mode and leant her head against the car-window, watching the rain as it pulverized the windows. She liked to trace the raindrops on the glass. They were free-falling. They had no path. They just fell, whether they liked it or not. Lili never thought she would relate to a fucking raindrop.

This was really going to happen. There was no way her mother was going to give up. She was going to be forced to take-part in some stupid therapy session. She felt like laughing. Therapy for something that was permanently going to ruin her life. And some specialist – what was his name? Mathias. Lili remembered her mom saying in the car. This so-called Neurologist who thought he could make it tolerable. More fun to live with.

Because that sounded like fun. Lili thought, sourly. She half expected him to hand out sticker-books and teddy bears baring the disease's name.

It wasn't like Lili didn't know what was wrong with her. It wasn't a secret, or an enigma no doctor could figure out. Lili knew exactly what was wrong with her. Ever since she was a baby, she had suffered from what the specialists, or whoever the hell they were, Lili didn't really care, called; Hyper Neurodegeneration Syndrome. That was what it was called, what had kinda ruined her fucking life. Because of the disorder, or disease- Lili had what she called '"blanks" pretty much every day, and that left her with huge memory gaps in her head. Sometimes she became disoriented, just a shell of herself. It was physically impossible to make friends, because if she was ever lucky to actually make them, she'd forget them in minutes.

Lili grimaced when her mother pulled a face, fiddling with Lili's light blonde hair she had fastened into twin pigtails. 'Lili,' she murmured, her eyes hardening slightly. Lili felt an overwhelming urge to roll her eyes. Her fifteen year old daughter was kind of maybe sort of dying and all she cared about was her hairstyle.

'Aren't these a little childish?'

Faith Reinhart was a short brunette with a love for fluffy sweaters. Her own hair was tied in a loose ponytail. She was smiling. Except Lili could see the strain. The constant worry and anxiety in her mother's eyes. She was both Lili's best friend, and worst enemy. It was like having a life sentence to her bedroom. Forced to watch Disney film after Disney film- until Lili had practically memorized the words to every classic. Her mother was a control freak. But it wasn't that Faith was doing it on purpose, or to intentionally ruin Lili's life. No, she just cared far, far too much. So much that Lili couldn't leave the house unless she was going to school. Which sucked, anyway. Pretty much the entire student body knew about Lili's disease. And that's what they treat her like. A walking disease. As if a brain disorder could be passed around like flu. She was nicknamed Crazy Girl by her peers.

Instead of being offended or upset, Lili embraced it. Sometimes she tied her hair in Harley Quinn style pigtails and did her best to act like a cracked out zombie.

Though she didn't really have to try. Most days the pain was so intense, she was drugged up on pills. Pills, pills, pills. Her life was just pills. Meds. Capsules. And all the pills did was made her nauseous. They took the pain away for maybe an hour, before The Monster broke through, more powerful than ever. Then it would punish her. It would take every good memory of her day. Hugging her mother and telling her please stop worrying about me and her mom just holding her in a tight embrace and crying into her shoulder.

Gone. Vamoosh. Lili used to care. It used to make her cry and scream into her pillows. But she was far too used to it by now.

So with no friends, Lili found solitude in either the library, or the girl's bathroom. Her classes were impossible to concentrate on. Especially when she wasn't learning anything. The monster, every time it crept up on her, slowly draining her memories of small-talk with her mom, or a book she had picked up. It loved a good chunk of English Literature, or some Math. So there was no point in her going to school.

Except her mother wanted her to have a normal life. So Lili had to bite her tongue, ignore the teasing from kid's on the hallways, and try and suck up as much information as possible.

Lili sighed, and ducked her head lamely. 'What's wrong with them?' she muttered, playing with her stupid childish pigtails. Okay, so maybe they were childish. But Lili didn't have anyone to impress. There was just the receptionist, Doctor Mathias, a doctor she had apparently known since she was five, and of course; her fellow patients. The other kids suffering from the same thing as her. They were probably like her; Zombies. Well, coherent ones. Lili wasn't like other fifteen year old girl's. Not in that YA Cliché aspect. She really wasn't. Lili never left the house, had no friends whatsoever, unless she counted her own mother, and her favourite Disney Princess Mulan. Which she had seen an unhealthy amount of times. Lili barely changed her clothes, and when she did, it was either her PJ's or some cosy sweatshirt and leggings. Sometimes her mother had to force her to take a shower, because she didn't mind stewing in her own sweat for days. It had taken an hour for her mom to brush out the unruly tangles out of her hair. 'See!' Her mother had murmured. 'You look so much more grown up with your hair down, sweetie.'

Of course then she had to go and tie it into the hairstyle of a five-year-old. But Lili didn't care. She hated looking in the mirror, because all she saw was a sad-eyed teenage girl with dumb, babyish pigtails and blank eyes.

She highly doubted the other kids would bother either. After all, it wasn't a fashion parade. Kids like her didn't care enough to bother about their appearance. Today, she had opted for pretty much her usual lingo. Her long green sweatshirt over some old tights from some audition she couldn't remember. Now that hurt. Lili knew she wanted to be an actress. It had been drilled into her since she was a kid. She wanted to be a star one day. Except any auditions she had ever had, were lost to her. There was only her mother's (usually tearful) accounts. Or she filmed them for Lili to watch. But it hurt too much. Seeing herself reading lines almost perfectly, with a calm expression, an excited gleam in her eye. For it all to be washed away, drowned by the monster. Sometimes she felt like giving up. What was the point of reaching out for a dream she was never going to get?

'Nothing, honey.' Her mom murmured, with a sigh. 'I just wish you cared about your hair more.'

The receptionist peered over her laptop. 'You have some lovely hair, sweetheart.' she gave Lili a toothy smile. 'It does look slightly long for your age,' The woman shot a look at her mother. 'Why don't you get a haircut?'

Lili shook her head. 'I like my hair how it is.' she grumbled. The receptionist nodded. 'Of course, of course.' she smiled, before clearing her throat. 'Okay, Lili! You can just make your way into the waiting room. The session starts in ten minutes.' The woman then leaned back in her chair and picked up a scrappy looking book. Lili recognised the title. It was the first Harry Potter book. Another book she wanted to read, but didn't see the point if she was going to automatically forget both the story, and her reading experience. Most of the time, Lili read books because she was bored. She didn't care for the story. If she was reading, she wasn't thinking about- well, her shitty life.

'Do you want me to come in with you?' Faith wrapped her arms around her daughter, pulling Lili into an embrace, and Lili felt her stomach catapult into her throat. The pain in her head was dulling, admittedly. Maybe she was wrong about having an episode. But she had to really sell it, if she was going to be able to get out of this.

'Mom, I really don't feel well.' she whispered. 'My head hurts, I feel sick, and-'

'It's nerves.' Faith smiled reassuringly. 'Once you're in there, you'll feel fine.' Lili didn't have time to try and protest, or tell her mother that she was in agony because Faith Reinhart was already gently shoving her towards the waiting room doors. 'I'll pick you up in an hour, Lil.' Her mother said, backing away. 'Have fun!'

Fun. Lili thought. Sure. She shuffled uncomfortably at the threshold, willing herself to walk in. But her feet felt like they were glued to the floor. 'Go on, Honey!' The receptionist trilled. 'There's no reason to be scared, they're all lovely kids.'

Lili forced her legs to comply, and pushed open the door, leading into a cosy looking room with two bright orange sofas surrounding a small table strewn with magazines and comics. There were two kids her age already inside. There was a girl with dark hair pulled into a ponytail, and some band t-shirt over leggings. She was sitting with a guy with dark hair. He wore a knitted beanie, and she had to admit it. He was kinda cute. She had never thought that about someone before. Unless it was a Disney character- or just a fictional person in general. Lili started to regret her choice of hairstyle. She wanted to tug out her ratty pigtails as soon as possible. Except the boy didn't seem judgemental. He only smiled kindly at her, nervously tugging on his beanie.

'Hey!' The girl practically jumped up, with the boy following in her wake. 'Lili right?'

Lili nodded, shuffling uncomfortably. How the heck did the girl know her name?

'Great!' The girl grinned, before reaching out and grabbing her hand, before yanking Lili behind the orange sofa. Lili stumbled over her ballet flats, but the girl tugged her harder. The boy ducked onto the floor too, chuckling. Lili let out a shaky laugh. 'What's going on?' She giggled nervously at the girl with the ponytail. The girl was freaking her out. This was a bad idea. She thought. These kids are crazy. They're completely bat-shit crazy.

The girl only pressed her finger over her lips in a shush! motion. Lili stared at her, bewildered. The girl had olive skin, practically glowing underneath the fluorescent lights in the waiting room. Lili thought she detected hints of makeup smudging the girl's eyes. She couldn't help smiling a little. The girl reminded her of a panda bear.

'Quiet.' The girl giggled, and Lili decided she really liked the girl. There was a certain rebellion and defiance in her eyes that made her want to act out against her mom.

Lili nodded and copied the others, pressing her back into the sofa. She turned to the boy, and her stomach fluttered again, when she found herself practically nose-to-nose with him. Lili didn't even know his name.

'What's going on?' She hissed. She felt like she was in one of those bad spy movies her mom watched. The boy shrugged, his brown eyes crinkled with excitement. 'I have no idea,' he said. And his accent startled her slightly. He must have caught her look of surprise. 'Hey, I'm KJ.' He said, leaning his head back into the back of the sofa.

Australian. She concluded, mentally. Man, she really wasn't expecting group therapy to be like this.

'Hey.' She smiled at KJ. 'And who's…?' she started to say, but the boy laughed. 'The crazy chick?' He pronounced 'Chick' like 'Cheek' and Lili already liked him. He was nothing like she expected to meet. She thought she'd be shaking hands with kids looking like they wanted to murder her.

'That's Camila.' He said. 'I think she's playing a game?' He cocked his head. 'Though I can't be sure. When I walked in, she did the same to me.' He chuckled, his brown flecked gaze wandering to the door, and then Camila leaning over the couch, eagerly anticipating it opening. 'I'm guessing she's doing it to everyone.' He turned to her, his lips twisting into a playful smile. 'I pity the next kid.'

'Another kid?' Lili murmured. Her thoughts automatically went back to the parking lot and the boy standing in the rain with his mom.

'Yep.' KJ said, popping the P. 'There's meant to be four of us.'

Lili kept her gaze trained on the door. 'So, what, are we just going to surprise them when they come in?' She asked lamely. Though before KJ or Camila could answer, the door was flinging open, and her breath was catching in her throat. She peeked over the edge of sofa, along with KJ and Camila. KJ turned and grinned expectantly at her. She stared back at the boy, confused. Go! He mouthed, and Lili's heart started doing cartwheels. What?! She mouthed back. But Camila was already grabbing and shoving her out of hiding. Lili found herself on her hands and knees, crawling like a little kid. But she felt exhilarated. She couldn't keep the stupid grin off of her face. This was the most fun she had had in- years? Lili watched the kid walk in, and she felt her cheeks heat up. It was the boy from the parking lot. He had stripped off his raincoat and was standing in a hoodie and dark jeans, his dark hair spilling over confused eyes as he scanned the room with a questioning gaze. 'Hello?' The boy raised his eyebrow and he took another uncertain step into the waiting room.

'Are you gonna do it or not?' KJ hissed impatiently, and Lili wanted to kick him. They wanted her to pop out of hiding and scare the living crap out of the guy. Just like they had done with her. She felt like laughing. This wasn't normal teenage behaviour. But then again, they were kids with broken brains with their childhoods stolen away from them by a suffocating disease. It was finally their time to act like fucking toddlers.

Screw it. Lili watched the boy survey the table covered in comic's. His eyes widened with curiosity. Then she jumped up, and reached out, grabbing his arm and yanking him to the ground, dragging him behind the sofa. The boy let out a hissed breath when he hit the ground, and she was sure he was pissed. But when he turned to face her, KJ and Camila when they were pressed against the back of the couch, he was smiling, his eyes glinting with amusement. She couldn't help herself. Before she could stop herself, she was hissing, 'Hey!' in his face. And the second his gaze landed on her, Lili felt self-conscious for the first time in her life. God knows how many times she had met him and had the same feeling.

'Uh...Hey?' The boy's forehead crinkled with confusion. 'Sorry, What's going on?' He asked, and Camila only turned to him, shushing him. The boy looked irritated. He lost his smile. 'Alright, fine.' He whispered, lowering his tone significantly to mimic the dark haired girl. 'What's going on?'

Camila and KJ ignored him, and Lili felt bad. KJ looked bored, while Camila seemed to be looking for something- or someone.

Finally, after the four of them had been sitting there in a comfortable silence for a little while, the boy let out a sigh of frustration, making her jump. 'Forgive me for asking,' he rolled his eyes again. 'But why exactly are we hiding behind a sofa?'

KJ chuckled. 'Beats me, man.' He said, straightening up and stretching his legs out. 'I was forced to play this game against my will too.'

'Australian.' The boy hummed in acknowledgement, sounding surprised. He turned his head to look at KJ, who was running a hand through his thick dark hair. 'You're an Aussie?'

KJ shook his head with a smirk. 'I'm Kiwi.'

'What's the difference?' The boy muttered, with a smile. KJ shrugged. 'Actually, there's a lot of noticeable differences between an Australian and a Kiwi,' he murmured. 'Like, for example-'

Camila sighed, cutting the boy off. She turned to the three of them, her green eyes flaring with irritation. 'Is it really that hard to be quiet?!' She hissed. Her gaze landed on the new boy, and Lili noticed a small smile curve on the girl's lips. 'Hey Cole!' she smiled. 'Nice to see you again!' Then; 'I'm Camila.'

Cole. Lili thought. The boy's name was Cole. He frowned at Camila, clearly confused. 'How do you know my name?' He asked, and then laughed a little. 'Wait, Do you remember me?' He looked impressed, his gaze landing on all three of them. 'Do you all remember me?' He let out a laugh, making Lili's heart jump. 'Because as far as I'm concerned, you guys are complete strangers.' Cole shrugged with a smirk. 'No offence.'

KJ scoffed. 'Nope, I'm with you, man. I'm clueless too. It's Camila who knows us…' he paused. 'For some reason.'

But how? Lili thought. How can she possibly remember us when our memories are like cheese graters?

Cole gave Lili a withering look, and she could only shrug with a smile. Camila intrigued her. She had brought three strangers together just by knowing their names, remembering them from a time before. A time Camila should have forgotten.

'So, not to be invasive or anything,' Cole spoke up. Liar. Lili thought, with a smile. 'But how exactly can you know our names, when I can't even remember how many letters there are in the alphabet?'

'Twenty six.' KJ murmured. Cole shot him a look. 'Thanks man.'

Camila sighed, and turned back to the three of them. Lili sat forward, intrigued. 'Look, I know this sounds crazy,' the girl murmured, her gaze trailing over each of them. 'But I remember when we last met.'

KJ cocked his head. 'Which was when?' He asked. Camila shrugged. 'When we were twelve. I remember everything,' she lowered her voice, leaning in close. 'But I'm not supposed to remember.'

'None of us are.' Cole murmured. 'It's called having a degenerative brain disease.' He rolled his eyes. 'But kudos for remembering us all.' He said, with a smile. He folded his arms across his chest and lay down on the carpet, stretching his legs out. KJ copied. Eventually Lili did too. They lay bunched together like sardines. Lili had never been more comfortable in her life. Cole turned to her, finally seeming to notice her properly. 'Nice pigtails.' He sent her a smirk and her cheeks flamed. Cole cocked his head, turning to Camila. 'Maybe you're getting better?' He shrugged, smiling a little.

Lili couldn't help notice how close the four of them were already, and they hadn't even known each other an hour. She had met them countless times in the past. Maybe they were naturally drawn to each other by now. She liked the sound of that.

Camila hissed in frustration. 'No, it's not like that!' She knelt over the three of them, her eyes wide. 'Guys.' She sat on her knees, fiddling with her hands in her lap. 'Last time we were here. They-' She closed her eyes for a second, as if willing away the memory. 'They drugged me.'

Lili felt her stomach twist. And Cole lifted his head. 'Okay, I'm officially intrigued.' He murmured, sitting up on his elbows. 'What makes you think you were drugged?'

Camila wrapped her arms around her legs. 'It was just after I'd spoken to KJ. The nurse called me into the office, and I-' she scrunched her face up. I saw something. And-' she shivered. 'It freaked me out.'

'Wait, you spoke to me?' KJ sat up, crossing his legs. He scrunched his face up, and Cole sighed. 'We've been over this,' he rolled his eyes at the other boy, and Lili couldn't resist a smirk. 'We have like, serious memory problems.' Cole said. 'It's really not surprising that we keep forgetting each-other every damn time we meet.'

'But this was different.' Camila said. KJ nodded. He was pulling nervously at his beanie. 'What did you see?'

Camila played with the buttons on her jacket, sliding them around between her fingers. 'It sounds stupid, like I said,' she looked at them, and Lili saw honesty in the girl's eyes. Camila was telling the truth. The girl let out a harsh laugh. 'I mean, It's not like I'm cured. I still forget chunks of my day, and it still scares me to death. But-' she stared hard at the carpet. 'For some reason I didn't forget you guys. When I woke up, after, they- they drugged me. I could still remember bits and pieces of what happened. I grabbed a notepad and wrote your names repeatedly, scrawling them, doodling them, until I was positive I'd remember you. But, the scary thing is- I didn't forget, like I expected to. I thought I'd forget everything, and have to study the random list of names. But I didn't.' Camila's wide eyes met KJ's. 'I didn't forget that you wrote my name on your hand because you wanted to remember me.'

The boy frowned. 'Huh.' He murmured. He absently rubbed at his wrist, biting his lip.

'Okay.' Cole said. He seemed serious now, too. The playful gleam had dispersed from his eyes. 'What did you see though?' He pressed. KJ and Lili nodded, leaning forward, anticipating the girl's answer.

Camila looked uncomfortable, and leaned back on her knees. 'I saw….Archie.' she said, and Cole snorted. 'You saw what?'

'Archie.' She repeated, with a steely tone. 'You know? The ginger comic book kid who can't choose between-'

'Betty and Veronica.' KJ murmured. 'Yeah, I've read them.' He smirked. 'You were freaked out because the doctor had an Archie comic?'

'No.' Camila said softly. 'Look, All I'm saying is that-'

The girl was interrupted when the door flew open, and the four of them including Lili, nearly jumped out of their skin. Dr. Mathias appeared with a kind smile. But Lili saw something else in his eyes. She shuffled uncomfortably.

'Ah, Good. You've made friends again.' The doctor chuckled. Again? Lili thought.

'Okay, if you'd like to all take a seat on the sofa?' The doctor wandered over to a plastic chair and sat down, crossing one foot over the other. Lili jumped up first, making her way over to the orange couch. Though her legs were shaking for some reason. She felt a stab of pain bridging her temples, and internally groaned. Not now! She wanted to scream. Though when Cole slumped down next to her, he too was wincing. KJ and Camila squeezed in beside them and Lili suddenly had a really bad feeling.

Dr. Mathias regarded the four of them with twinkling eyes, though he didn't say anything. Lili's stomach started to twist and turn, and she risked a side glance at Cole, who stared back at her, frowning. She spotted the wrinkles in his forehead as he scrunched his face up in pain. After an awkward silence, the doctor spoke up.

'Camila, sweetheart.' He said, leaning forward. 'Do you want to tell me what you saw?'

Lili suddenly felt sick. He'd heard them? She suddenly really, really wanted her mom. The urge to stand up and walk out overwhelmed her. She turned to Camila, who had gone pale. 'I didn't see anything, Dr. Mathias.' She whispered.

The doctor chuckled. 'No, but you were right.' 

Cole let out a breath. KJ suddenly found his beanie the most interesting thing in the world. 'I just want you to tell the others exactly what you saw.'

Camila opened her mouth to speak, but Lili couldn't concentrate on what the girl was saying. The pain was throbbing in the back of her skull. Her vision started to blur with tears and she bit hard into her lip. Mom. She wanted to cry out. Oh god, mom. Lili ducked her head, willing the pain to stop. She didn't want to forget. Camila knew something, and she knew it was important. She knew she had to hold on. Don't forget.

'Different names.' Camila's voice was as clear as day, and Lili lifted her head to look at the girl, who also looked in a great deal of pain. 'There were…' Camila's voice was strained. 'There were photo's of us, and there were- there were different names next to them.' she said softly. Lili ignored a stab of pain digging into the base of her skull, and tried to listen. Tried to register the girl's words. 'Why did we have three names? Camila asked, shakily.

'Three names?' The doctor repeated. Though his voice was playful. Lili grabbed the armrest of the sofa, gripping onto it for dear life. She wouldn't pass out. Camila's words were still swirling around in her mind.

'Ah, that would be your birth name, your subject name, and your character name.' The doctor replied. Lili heard KJ let out a spluttered, 'What?!' Though she could tell he too was clinging onto consciousness. Though Camila, even if she was starting to have an episode, she was yelling accusations at the doctor that sliced through Lili's mind. She sensed movement. The girl had jumped to her feet.

'You're controlling the episodes!' Camila shrieked. 'I want to know what's going on- I want to-'

The girl's voice cut off, and Lili was in too much pain to wonder what had happened.

Three names. Lili thought desperately. She struggled to keep her eyes open, the pain bearing down like a hungry beast. Birth name. Subject name. Character name.

Lili didn't have time to be confused, or to question the madness. She felt herself start to fall. She felt The Monster slowly start to gobble up everything that had happened. Everything she was supposed to- supposed to…?

Supposed to...supposed to what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls comment if you're reading, this fic is a train wreck, idk what i was thinking lmao wtf 2017 lauren
> 
> also @2017 lauren did u know in like 2 years it's gonna be illegal to go outside. wild.


	7. Chapter 7

the problem is with this fic,, the next bit is so badly edited. idk if its even salvageable?

would you guys want this one chapter of trash? it gets better I promise lmao jkdfjkjkd


	8. Caught.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! okay so to clear up some confusion, i lost part of it this part. It was only small, but basically, they hide in an empty room, Cole is an ass to Veronica, who gets upset and betrays them. It's a jarring jump, but hopefully it doesn't mess the story up too much :)

* * *

‘Okay!’ Veronica pursed her lips and glared at KJ and Jughead. ‘Can we just…’ she took a shaky breath. ‘Keep our cool, okay?’ Both boys stared at her. KJ with a frown, and Jughead with disgust. ‘Keep our cool?’ he hissed. ‘We might not...we might not be real, Veronica! he takes a startling breath, as if gasping for oxygen, or perhaps trying to hide a sob, and points an accusing finger at KJ.

‘Everything, that…’ he stumbles over his words, continuing to stab his index finger at the redhead, who only glared back. ‘Fake Archie,’ he decides on. Except it sounds pathetic. ’Everything he says, It could be true, we could be...we could be nothing more but...but coded programmes in some actors heads, and you want me to keep my cool?!’

‘Jughead,’ Veronica put her hands in front of her, shaking her head frantically. ‘Do you not see how ridiculous that sounds? There’s no possible way that’s true.’ The girl sent a glare towards KJ, who looks impatient. His teeth were gritted, eyes on the door.

“She's right.’ the redhead said eventually. When Veronica shot him a confused look, he smiled sheepishly. ‘I mean about staying cool.’ he said, his New Zealand twang sent shivers slipping down Jughead’s spine. Jughead frowned at him, cocking his eyebrows. "So actually expect us to believe you?"

KJ ignored him. ‘Look, whether you're Jughead, or Cole, Cami or Veronica, you're still them, okay? You're still my cast mates.’ he sighed and turned to the door. ‘We need to get the hell out of here.’ he slammed his hands into the door. 

The mechanics rattled and KJ took a slow step backwards, staring. ‘Wait…’ he muttered, before trying again, this time throwing his entire body into the steel.

‘Archie..’ Veronica started to say, until KJ whipped his head back at her, his brown eyes narrowing. She sighed, giving up. ‘I mean..’ she let out a heavy breath. ‘I mean...KJ?’ she held up her hands before planting them on her hips. ‘I don't think that's going to..’

She trailed off, when a loud mechanical groan sounded, before the door slid open slowly. KJ stumbled, since he was leaning on it and let out an appreciative whistle. ‘Finally!’

The three of them seemed to acknowledge the elephant in the room, and turned to where Betty lay, a shell of her girl he thought she was.

Who had a name apparently, according to KJ.

‘Oh god, Lili.’ the Kiwi started towards her, but Jughead grabbed his arm, yanking him back. ‘Leave her alone," he said, trying to keep calm. "She collapsed at the same time as you, so she could be..." he trailed off. 

"Lili." The redhead breathed. 

‘So, what you're saying,’ Veronica said softly, stepping forward. ‘Is that...there's another person in there? Another Betty?’

KJ cocked his head. ‘You could say that?’ he murmured. He shot a quick look at Jughead, who was glaring at the ground, before shrugging. ‘We can talk about this later,’ he said quickly. ‘Right now, we need to get the hell-’ he trailed off, almost instantly, as the familiar sound of footsteps marching up steps put all three of them on edge. ‘I want all four of them chipped and back on set before ten O'clock, have you got that?’

The three of them froze. Jughead managed to snap out of it in enough time to stumble out of the doorway, grabbing Veronica. Jughead pressed himself into the wall, with Veronica and the redhead following suite. 

‘Did he just say..’ Jughead couldn't help hissing out a breath, managing to clamp his mouth shut, before a cry could rip from his throat. KJ gritted his teeth. "Do you believe me now?" When he received blank looks in response, the boy rolled his eyes.

‘Quiet.’ he mouthed, as the footsteps neared. Whoever was in charge continued to bark orders at his minions, and Jughead struggled to stay completely still, his gaze glued to KJ.

‘Do you understand how much money we’re losing?!’ a man's voice yelled, sending shivers ripping up and down Jughead's spine. ‘How are we supposed to have a Riverdale without the main four? Do you want me to drag an extra from Lab 3 and get him to play all four characters?’ the man sounded like he was spitting venom with every single word.

‘Sir, A.A.1 has managed to extract the chip.’ another voice said. Female. To which the man let out a harsh laugh. ‘Well find him and stick that fucking chip back into his head! I don't care how you do it! Break a few limbs, maybe give the boy a scare. Just find them.’

Jughead had to quickly slam his hand over Veronica’s mouth to gag her cry, when her eyes widened comically, her body wriggling against his restraint. KJ squeezed his eyes shut as the voices continued down the corridor. Once they were sure the man and his goons were gone, the actor let out a breath and Jughead removed his hand from Veronica’s mouth. 

KJ darted out of hiding and slipped through the door. "Are you coming or not?" He hissed, gesturing to the other two, who still looked like they were in shock. Jughead managed to snap himself out of it and followed KJ, with Veronica stumbling along behind. The three of them started, uneasily, down a corridor, which was dim lit. The walls were starched white, reminding Jughead of some kind of facility. He shivered, ducking his head. Betty had been left behind, and part of him wanted to go back for her. But did he want to know the girl behind Betty Cooper? Like the boy who had been suppressed inside KJ. 

No. He knew the answer straight away. No, he wanted Betty. Just Betty. 

"Down there." The redhead murmured, pointing to a door at the bottom of a flight of stairs. He led the way, taking slow steps. "I think this is the way out."

Veronica rushed ahead, clacking down the corridor in her heels, while Jughead walked stiffly beside KJ. He waited for a moment, before inhaling sharply. 

"So, KT, or whatever your name is," he pressed his lips together. "What exactly is going on?"

"It's a long story."

"I've got time." Jughead found himself saying. "You said we're, what? Sentient intelligence inside actors heads?"

"Basically."

Jughead nodded slowly. Wow. He was expecting himself to break apart at the bombshell. "Right." he said shakily.

"You're not Archie are you?"

He expected the boy to scoff, but KJ only shrugged. "I didn't want this." he said softly. "Neither did Cole." the boy spluttered. "Hell, none of us did." His voice was surprisingly sincere. "I didn't think whatever they did to us had a brain, y'know?"

"A brain?"

Before the redhead could reply, a piercing screech came over the speakers, bringing both boys to their knees. 

"What the hell is that?" Jughead cried over the noise. It was different to the screech from earlier. This one was more of a squeal, like nails on a chalkboard. 

KJ managed to get to his feet, his palms pressed into his ears. "Just run!"

Jughead didn't have to be told twice. He sprang up and threw himself into a run, skating across the marble flooring, with the redhead staggering along behind. Jughead made it to the stairs, his expression a mask of fright, green eyes lit up in the dim. He twisted around to run, but his legs tangled beneath him, sending him tumbling down the stairs. The drop wasn't much. Maybe a dozen steps. But it was enough to knock him out. He landed in a heap at the bottom, curled into himself. He wasn't moving. 

Veronica stumbled back, her hands coming up to stifle a shriek. 

"Is he okay?" the girl hissed out, falling to her knees beside the boy. 

KJ jumped down the steps, two at a time, before dropping down next to Veronica. His brown eyes were wide, lips twisted. "He's fine." he said shakily. "Just knocked out." He shook the raven head. "Jug, get up," his voice bled urgency. "Please, Jughead. You need to get up, okay?" another shove. This time more violent. Teeth gritted, the actor hissed out a breath, falling back on his knees. "We don't have time for this! Jug, please!"

"Are you crazy?" Veronica shot the boy a glare. "He's completely out! He might need medical help."

KJ shook his head. "Bad idea. Trust me. We can't trust anyone. I should know. My first boss drugged me and turned me into a fucking comic book character."

The girl curled her lip, shuffling away from the boy. "Who says I trust you?"

Opening his mouth to argue back, KJ swallowed the words in his throat, when an audible groan sounded. Jughead twitched slightly, his head of curls lolling to the side. 

"Shit." KJ bent over the boy in anticipation. "Jughead? You alright, mate? You just tumbled down the stairs, take it easy for a sec, kay?"

"Mmm." was the boy's only response, as he slowly started to stir, tucking his knees further into his chest. "Ow, my head."

Any broken bones?" 

"Nope. Just my pride."

KJ sent Veronica a smile. "See? He's fine." Turning his attention back to Jughead, he lay a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Up ya get, Jug. We're getting the hell out of here."

The boy scoffed into the ground. "Sure. I get that I'm very drunk right now, and I've probably done some questionable things. But character names? Low, KJ. Low."

The air around them stilled. Veronica stood up slowly, blue eyes widening. KJ's wandering hand froze, where it had been initially been trying to get a good grasp of the raven head to pull him to his feet. The boy let out a choked breath. "Wait...Cole?"

An uncomfortable silence before, "Yes?"

"Cole?!" Veronica parroted. "Wait, what? What's he saying?"

Ignoring the girl, KJ held his breath, shaking the bot further. "Cole, is that you?" he choked out. "Jesus fuck, I thought...I thought you were... I thought-"

A beat, before, "KJ, no offence, but we're drunk. Emotional breakdowns are inevitable.

"What?" KJ's expression crumpled. But realisation dawned in his expression, chasing the confusion away. In the boy's mind, they were still drunk. They were still in the club, before they were taken. "Okay." shaking the boy further, the redhead grew more urgent. "Dude, get up. You need to get the hell up, and I'll try and explain everything."

"What?" Cole's eyes flickered open, his gaze zeroing in on the two looming over him, before taking in his surroundings; starched white walls and mellow lighting. He arched a brow. "Holy shit." He let out a breath. We really were sold on the fucking black market."

"What?!" Veronica shrieked. 

"No," KJ said quickly, trying to fashion a smile. "Cole, do you remember what happened?"

The boy cocked his head. "Not really." He stroked the back of his head, wincing. "My head feels like its caving in on itself though." Cole narrowed his eyes slightly. "You alright, buddy? You're straight up looking at me like I'be grown a second head."

Shaking his head, KJ swallowed hard. "Anything, Cole. You don't remember anything?"

The boy blinked, the splintered pieces of his memory coming back together. He jolted slightly, blinking rapidly. "Wait." his hand came up, rubbing his right eye feverishly. His lips twisted. "My eye," he moaned. "Fuck, there's something...there's something in my eye," he let out a sharp cry. Cole was trembling now, his gaze on something or someone else entirely. "They took...they took me and I couldn't...I couldn't fucking move! I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe-" he trailed off, his eyes finding the redhead's once more. "You got away." his voice broke, slurring slightly. "Lili. Where's Lili?" 

"Cole. I know this is hard to take in, but you need to keep it low-key, okay?"

"Low key? Are you fucking broken?!" Cole spluttered. "There's a sentient being inside my head, and you're telling me to keep it low-key?"

"I know." KJ growled. "Stay calm, okay? We'll get it out."

Veronica let out a hiss. "You mean he's someone else too?!"

"I'll explain when we're out of here," KJ gasped out. "For now..." once again, he was interrupted by the same sound, sending him to his knees. "Fuck!" he planted his hands over his ears, squeezing hard. 

"What's going on?" Someone yelled over the screeching noise incapacitating them.

The voice was familiar. The three of them looked up, only to see Lili staring down at them. She didn't look too fazed by noise, which automatically sent alarm bells off, considering the noise itself was the love-child of a dentist drill and car alarm; it was a physical entity digging inside their skulls, seeping into them like a virus. 

The girl looked down at her three friends in a tangle on the stairs. KJ holding a now still Cole, whose head had lolled, his eyes flickering.

"What..." Lili looked dazed rubbing her temples, her fingers gently brushing over her right eye. She gripped the handrail for support. "Can someone tell me what's going on?" she pulled at her Betty sweater, her fingers twitching around the girl's iconic ponytail, which she had clawed out. She cocked her head, almost unnaturally. "Where are we? I woke up, and that noise..." the girl grimaced, her hand coming up to caress her right eye. 

"You don't even want to know," KJ choked out a laugh. "Lils, help me with Cole."

"Kids." The intercom screeched again, making KJ wince and the boy beneath him, jolted once again, as the sound seemed to react with the chip. ‘Cole?’ he hissed, peering in the unconscious boy’s face. "Cole! Hey, hey! Dude, wake up!"

"This is not acceptable behaviour! Stay right where you are, we’re sending soldiers to collect you. If the chips failed, we’ll take you by force. Do not resist."

"Like hell!" The redhead snapped back at the screeching static. "Veronica. Lili. I need help with him."

Lili hurried down to join them, falling beside Cole. "What happened?" her hands caressed his face. "Cole, hey, are you okay?"

"He fell." KJ managed to deadpan. When Veronica dropped down next to Lili, the blonde turned to her. "Cam, I'm really freaked out."

Veronica didn't answer. She pressed her lips together, shaking her head. She focused on helping with the unconscious raven-head. "So, what's going on?" she hissed to the boy who was not Archie. She'd come to terms with that now. She slid her arms under Cole's back, helping with the lift. "And don't sugar coat it for me, fake Archie. Lay it all on me." 

KJ nodded. He struggled with Cole's weight, huffing out a breath. His gaze was stuck to the speaker on the ceiling. "Whatever the that noise is, it's reacting with the chip."

the girl's voice shook. "You...you mean Jughead."

"Essentially, yes."

Lili was trembling, her quaking hands tending to the raven head. "Something bad happened to us, didn't it?" she whispered. "I... I can remember bits and pieces, but my head-" she hissed in pain. "God, my head hurts."

KJ nodded. He and Veronica held most of Cole's weight, carrying him sort-of bridal style between them. "We can talk about this later, when we're not stuck in the middle of a facility in the middle of nowhere, with an unseen enemy watching us."

Lili swallowed. "Got it."

The three of them fell into a quick pace, carrying Cole down the remaining steps. They reached a long, narrow hallway. The same bleached white walls stared back, glinting in the mellow light. They were edging towards the end of the hallway, when Veronica stopped abruptly, staggering slightly. When Lili and KJ sent her a questioning glance, she pointed to a door left ajar. It was clearly occupied. 

"Can you take him?" Before Lili could answer, KJ was shoving Cole into her arms, and inching towards the door, keeping his back pressed to the wall. He risked a peek, blinking in the mostly dark room, illuminated in swimming blue light from computer screen. There were a handful of figures dressed in lab coats gathered around it.

"What do you MEAN we were hacked?!" an explosive yell sounded, and KJ winced. He knew that voice. He didn't know how, but there were memories long since suppressed, buried in his memory. "I was told the programs were stable! I was told there would be no problems!"

"Well no, of course not, sir. But you must look at the factors-"

"Do not treat me like I am an imbecile, Foley. Find them. Now!"

Startling, KJ whipped around, stumbling into Veronica. The girl stared at him. "What is it?" she kept behind him, peeking a look. 

Lili, still holding Cole, was bouncing on the heels of her converse. "We need to go!" she hissed, and KJ knew the urgency. But he had to know they were up against. 

The group were still studying the screen. "Mathias, they haven't left the building." one started. "It's only a matter of time before the ACC reacts with the microchips. When turned up to the highest frequency, it will make them compliant and submissive."

"ACC?" Veronica whimpered. "What the hell is that?"

KJ shushed her.

"What about Archie? He ripped his right out!"

"We can cross that bridge when we get to it, sir."

"I want the ACC turned up to max. Do you understand me?"

"Of course, sir."

Mathias whipped around, though his profile was hidden in the shadow. That didn't stop slithers of ice sliding down KJ's spine. "I don’t have time for this! He spat. "Find those damned kids before they figure out anything about this place. I don’t need to go on damage control over a few dysfunctional teenagers!"

“They're twenty years old, sir.”

"They're not though, are they, hmm? They're sixteen. They're The Archie's. Understand?"

"Yes. Of course, sir."

KJ backed out of the doorway, grasping hold of Veronica's hand. He was shaking. "Forget getting out of here," he gasped out. "We need to find somewhere to hide. Like now."

* * *

There was nowhere to run. KJ only knew Veronica Lodge as a stubborn computer programme rooted inside his friend’s head. He never felt anything for her, apart from maybe sympathy. Except right then, he couldn't feel anything else towards her but hate. She had thrown them, like shark bait, to the bad guys. KJ tried to act like he wasn't scared out of his wits. He stood up straight, making sure he kept a firm grip of Lili’s hand. While Cole wrapped his hand around his arm. ‘How sweet.’ The man with all the authority, smiled, his eyes twinkling, at the three of them. ‘You've always been close. That doesn't surprise me.’

‘Meaning?’ Cole spat.

‘I mean you were such good little kids!’ The man smiled widely, his eyes gleaming. ‘What happened, huh?’ He demanded. He motioned for his goons to surround them. Cole swore under his breath. Neither of them moved.

‘We certainly weren't planning any of this, but hey-ho, we can sort this out.’ The man grinned widely. ‘Hello kids!’ he had a noticeable British accent that sliced straight through KJ’s ears. ‘My name is Dr. Mathias,’ He introduced himself. He chuckled at their blank expressions. Lili looked baffled, KJ frowning with confusion. ‘Doctor M-what?!’ Cole hissed.

‘Mathias.’ The man repeated, his smile twisting into an amused smirk. ‘Ah, Cole. You haven’t changed.’ He giggled a little. ‘I guess I got so used to Jughead.’

‘Drop dead.’ Cole muttered. KJ was scared to look at him. Any moment, Cole could become Jughead. And this time, the stubborn bastard leached inside his friends brain, could hold on for dear life. And this time he might not let go.

‘KJ, Lili,’ Doctor Mathias smiled at the two of them. ‘Might I say! Kudos for removing your V chip, Mr Apa!’ Mathias exclaimed. He cocked his head, smirking. ‘How did you manage it?’

‘It doesn't matter.’’ KJ said softly, his eyes narrowing. ‘You’re not putting that thing back in my head.’

Mathias tapped his right temple. ‘Don’t be so sure, KJ. After all, you are our only Archie.’

KJ could only glare back. Cole and Lili stood either side of him. ‘Now look what’s happened to you. Running rampant in the studio’s, trying to remove the Vchip’s yourselves.’ The man’s expression turned dark as he took a step forwards. KJ resisted the urge to take a step back. ‘You said you’d tell us what’s going on.’ He growled. Lili leaned into him for comfort while Cole squeezed his eyes shut against the onslaught of the Jughead programme. It was slowly but surely taking him over again.

The man cocked his head, smirking at Cole. ‘Are you okay, Cole?’ He said, his lips twisting into a shark grin. ‘Is something bothering you?’

Cole glared at him. ‘Get it out of my head.’ He said coldly. ‘Whatever the fuck it is, get it out.’

The man chuckled. ‘Easier said than done.’ He said with a smile. ‘Now, Archie. You said you wanted answers.’ He spread out his arms, gesturing for the three of them to join him. ‘If you’d like to follow me.’

KJ gritted his teeth. ‘I'm not Archie.’

‘We’re good here, thanks.’ Cole muttered. But the man’s smile fell. ‘You do realize I have fifty armed soldiers surrounding you.’ He said, his lips flickering into an amused smirk. Cole shrugged. ‘So?’ he said, with a harsh laugh. ‘You could activate us at any moment, yet you haven’t.’ he challenged, risking a step forward, his arms folded across his chest, eyebrows raised, suggestively. Jughead. KJ shivered.

‘You don’t want to hurt us, do you, Hm?’ Cole instigated, with a smile of his own. Jughead’s smile. Lili shuffled uncomfortably, her wide eyes settled on Veronica, who still stood by the man’s side.

The boy seemed to be a mix of both Cole and Jughead Jones, as the chip leaked out into the boy’s consciousness. ‘We’re your precious Core Four. The heart of Riverdale.’ He spat. ‘Are you really going to threaten your stars?’

‘Cole.’ KJ hissed. But the boy continued, wincing as he spoke. ‘I bet something's fried with the connection.’ He said with a knowing smile. ‘You can't make us do fuck all, can you?’

The man frowned, his eyes darkening. “KJ, I insist you shut your friend up before he gets himself into trouble.’ He growled.

KJ stood stiffly. He was slightly surprised the man hadn't called him Archie. ‘I don't think it's him.’ He said softly. ‘It's like- a hybrid between him and- and Jughead.’ His voice was shaking, stumbling over words. Yet the man only smiled and shook his head. ‘Ah, we’ll have to take care of that. It's rare a V Chip can start taking over the host’s actual mind.’ As he spoke, the doctor slowly took a step forwards towards the boy. ‘Cole.’ He murmured, reaching out his hands to gently caress the boy’s face. ‘Are you in pain?’

Cole hissed out a breath, staggering backwards. ‘Get away from me!’

‘Cole,’ KJ grabbed him, resting a reassuring am on his shoulder. ‘You have to calm down okay? I'm not gonna let him hurt you.’ KJ’s gaze momentarily flickered to the doctor, and he narrowed his eyes.

The doctor only sputtered out a laugh. ‘You signed a contract!’ He said triumphantly. ‘Technically, I can do whatever I want with you kids.’ He grinned. KJ gritted his teeth, and had to shoot Cole a warning look before the boy lunged erratically at the psycho. Jughead seemed to be becoming the more dominant mind. KJ couldn't help thinking it; What happened when he finally took over?

‘What?’ Lili spoke for the first time, her voice a frenzied hiss. ‘What are you talking about?!’

The man turned, his lab coat sweeping behind him. ‘The contract? Ah, everything, Hm? I'll be happy to explain. Follow me, children.’ He murmured, before striding down the hall.

‘We’re not kids, asshole.’ Cole grimaced, holding his forehead. But he did take a step forwards. KJ, after hesitating, also began to follow the doctor, Lili shadowing him. As they walked, the three of them kept together, tailed by the soldiers behind them. ‘Cole.’ KJ murmured as they fell into a quick pace down the corridor. ‘That’s you in there, right?’

‘Not for long.’ Cole groaned, ducking his head. He let out a bitter laugh. ‘Jughead Jones clearly won't go down without a fight.’

‘Will someone please tell me what's going on, before I freak out?’ Lili whimpered. Her head was ducked. She had tugged her hair out of its strict Betty ponytail. KJ shot a look at Cole, who shrugged. ‘We’re four struggling actors who were physically turned into the Archie characters.’ He explained, his teeth gritted. ‘That's all I know.’ Cole lifted his head, his eyes darkening. ‘But I can bet there's more.’

The doctor led them into a small room with monitors covering every wall. KJ grabbed Lili’s hand, yanking her close. His eyes were wide. Cole let out a small breath, his eyes fixated on the multiple screens. ‘What the hell?’ He hissed. Lili let out a quiet whimper. Veronica who was still standing next to the doctor, also stared at the screen, her eyes wide in bafflement. What the four of them were seeing, were multiple versions of themselves.

Each screen flickered with different types of footage. CCTV footage, video camera POV, and even a Bird's Eye of what looked like a busy nightclub. KJ frowned at each screen, his gaze flickering across each monitor. He was seeing himself at ten years old, at fifteen and nineteen. Sitting playing with his fingernails in a doctor's surgery. Yet there was no memory.

‘Jesus.’ He muttered. He saw Cole, also a little kid, sitting near him. Lili and Camila sat opposite them. Then on the next screen, on scratchy black and white footage was KJ and Cole running into each other. KJ nearly dropping his cigarette and forcing a nervous smile while the other boy grinned in polite greeting. Cole let out a shaky breath, his narrowed eyes on a particular screen showing himself, five years younger, a time he didn't remember, hiding behind a couch with who only could be KJ, Lili and Camila. Three actors he only saw as that. His cast-mates.

Except the screens showed so much more. KJ finally managed to tear his gaze away from the screens. ‘What is this?’ He demanded, then with a startled laugh; ‘You've been spying on us all this time?’ He backed away slightly, his face paling. ‘But some of these were five years ago!’ He spluttered. ‘I think I’d be able to remember knowing the same people my entire life!’ His voice was trembling, his fists clenched by his sides. Cole shook his head slowly, his dark hair falling in his dark eyes. ‘They wiped our memories.’ He murmured. The boy was staring at a screen showing a very young KJ, sitting cross legged on a plastic chair. ‘So we wouldn’t remember each-other.’

The doctor grinned. ‘Cole, you've always been the smart one.’ He grinned. He held up a small grey remote, pointing it at the screen with little KJ. ‘Allow me to turn up the volume,’ he murmured. ‘KJ, you were such a cute kid.’

KJ didn't reply, his gaze was glued to the screen. He watched his ten-year-old self frown at the camera, innocent eyes wide with confusion. ‘Um…’ his younger self looked uncomfortable. ‘I don't know what to say.’

The voice off camera was unmistakably the doctor. ‘Just say your name, son.’

‘KJ.’ His younger self fiddled with his hands in his lap. ‘Why am I here?’

‘It's okay, KJ. We’re just going to have a chat. Now, you were chosen from a number of children who all suffer from the rare disorder you have. Do you know what that is?’

KJ winced when his younger self nodded.

‘Uh-huh. It's Alzheimer's, right? That's what my aunt says.’ He frowned, ducking his head.

'No, KJ. You have something called Hyper Neurodegeneration Syndrome. It makes you forget a lot of things. Do you remember what you had for breakfast this morning?’

‘No?’ The little boy frowned, his expression twisting. ‘Am I dying?’ He asked softly.

The doctor cleared his throat. ‘You certainly have an extreme case of it, young man. But I'm positive if you stay with us, you'll live a normal life. I promised your mother.’

The boy’s eyes widened. ‘I have a mum?’

The doctor hummed. ‘Yes you did, KJ. But we took you away from her when you were very young. You're now in the care of one of our best, Jane Thanatos. You know her by aunt Jane.’ The doctor chuckled a little. “It doesn't matter what I tell you, son. You'll forget it.’

‘Huh?’ Little KJ’s eyes widened once more.

The doctor chuckled again. ‘It's okay, KJ. I believe your time is up.’ He murmured. The boy’s confused expression morphed into a twist of pain, his mouth widening in a cry, his eyes squeezing shut. ‘That...that hurts!’ He cried, clutching at his head. The boy ducked his head, his brown hair sweeping in his eyes. ‘Please make it stop!’ The boy cried. But the doctor only sighed. ‘I'm not doing anything, KJ. That's your disorder. Don't be scared, just let it happen, okay? Try and relax, son.’

‘I can't!’ KJ squeaked. ‘It hurts!’ The boy lifted his head, his eyes filled with tears, his cheeks pale. He was clawing at his cheeks, his head, his hair, desperately. ‘Please make it stop!’

'KJ, you know I can't make it stop.’

Please!’ The boy was trembling, his little fists clenched, balling scraps of his hair.

' Alright. Do you want to make a deal? I'll give you some special meds that will make the pain go away, but you have to promise me something, okay?’

‘What?!’ The boy demanded, his tone riddled with agony. ‘Doctor, Please- it hurts!’

The doctor’s voice hardened. ‘I want you to promise that you'll take acting lessons, KJ. I see fantastic potential in you. You are the perfect Archie Andrews.’

' What?!’ The boy cried again, in confusion. ‘Y-yes! Please make it stop! Make- make it stop!’

The doctor cleared his throat again. ‘Very well, KJ. I'll go and grab you some Tylenol. What did I ask you again? Repeat it to me, son.’

The boy had his buried in his knees, and he was sobbing. Every word was caught in a sharp inhale of breath. ‘You want me to get a-acting lessons!’ He cried.

‘For who, KJ?’ The doctor pressed. ‘Say it.’

‘Archie.’ The boy sobbed. ‘You want me to get acting lessons for Archie.’ He repeated. His head was bobbing up and down as his chest convulsed with every sob. ‘I don't know who that is!’ He whimpered. The doctor let out a satisfied chuckle. ‘Trust me, you will when you're older. Are you going to forget that, KJ?’

'N-no.’ The boy whispered.

‘Good.’ The doctor replied. ‘Session ended at 14:33pm.’

* * *

‘Turn it off.’ KJ said, his voice shaking.

The doctor flicked the button on the side of the screen, and the static screen fades to black. He was giggling. ‘That's quite a reaction, Mr. Andrews,’ he mused, ‘I was actually looking forward to the reunion of these distant memories the two of us share.’

KJ grimaced. But he wanted answers. ‘So, what?’ He demanded, with a half-hearted laugh, jerking his head to one of the black screens. 'You're saying I'm sick?’

‘And what the hell has KJ being sick got to do with all four of us?’ Cole spoke up, with a frustrated hiss. The doctor only smirked. ‘Join the dots, Cole. You're smart aren't you?’

“Apparently.’ The dark haired boy muttered. ‘So, I'm guessing from the Cheshire Cat grin on your face- that I’m sick too?’ He rolled his eyes. ‘Let me guess. We all have three days to live, and you want to use those last precious hours of our lives having us become one with the Archie characters.’ Cole folded his arms. ‘Against our will.’ He added, with a sour lilt to his tone. ‘Which, by the way, is illegal in pretty much every shape and form, you moron.’

The doctor lost his smile. ‘Mr Jones, I highly recommend-’ but he was cut off by Cole’s interrupting hiss. ‘Sprouse.’ He grumbled.

‘Cole, the second we’re finished here, you're going to be reprogrammed,’ The doctor growled. He seemed to have finally had enough of Cole’s smart ass snark. ‘Also I highly recommend you desist with the attitude. You're only pushing my desire to put you through the Phase 3 stage.’ The man’s lip curled into a knowing smirk. ‘Which you will not like in the slightest. Phase 3 isn't just simple reprogramming of the mind, young man. Like we’ve done with you guys.’

‘Then what is it?’ Cole frowned, his eyebrows dipping in confusion. Both Lili and KJ let out twin hisses of frustration.

The doctor laughed maniacally. ‘Fascinating.’ He murmured, his gaze was admirable as he surveyed Cole. ‘I've never seen a programme leach into the host’s mind before.’

KJ couldn't move. Lili stood stiff, her gaze flicking between Cole and the doctor.

‘Cole,’ The doctor smiled at the boy, his eyes shining. ‘Do you or Jughead have anything to add? Or are you going to let me continue?’

Cole rolled his eyes. KJ could sense Jughead dripping from his tone. It was surreal knowing a computer programme was slowly but sure taking over a someone who he had only just found out he’d known nearly his whole life.

‘I'm gonna go out on a whim here and say Phase 3,” he inserted air-quotes over the phrase. ‘Happens to be instantaneous death.’

The doctor smirked. ‘Not exactly, young man.’

KJ felt himself jolt into action. He knew Cole, or the ever-pressing Jughead, wanted to know more. He quickly jumped in, before the dark haired boy could cause more damage. The doctor already looked ready to use Phase 3. Whatever that was. ‘Look,’ KJ said fiercely. ‘You haven't explained anything. You’re just being cryptic.’ He grabbed hold of Cole’s arm. Lili was already clinging onto him. ‘We’re going.’ He said coldly. ‘And you can't stop us.’

The man chuckled. ‘Don't be ridiculous. My men have you surrounded!’ He quirked his eyebrow. ‘I'm not keeping you for leisure, Mr Apa. You are an incredibly sick boy.’

KJ stared at the doctor, a part of him wanting to leap forwards and strangle the bastard. ‘I'm sick?’ He repeated, practically choking out the words. ‘What, are you saying I'm dying?’

The doctor shrugged. ‘KJ, you need to understand that the program works in both our favours. You stay healthy, and we have our Archie.’

KJ shook his head. ‘I don't understand.’ He said softly. ‘You can't…’ he stumbled back slightly. ‘You can't keep us here!’

The doctor’s expression hardened. ‘Alright then, Mr Apa. How about I tell you how it is, huh?’ He folded his arms across his chest, taking a stance. ‘You all have what is called Hyper Neurodegeneration Syndrome,’ he explained. ‘You’ve had it since you were kids. It's what we call a Degenerative brain disease where for whatever reason, you quite literally have the memory of a goldfish. You would lose your memories after having an episode, which of course was what you saw on the screen with little KJ.’ The man said. ‘Now, as for the contract. You each signed a legal document binding you to this project. If you were to try and get out of it, I'm afraid that's impossible. The V chip’s in your minds aren't just the reprogrammed characters for the show. They're…’ The Doctor trailed off, shrugging a little. ‘Stabilisers if you like?’ He smiled. ‘They make sure you no longer have episodes.’

The three of them stared at the doctor. Even Veronica had paled. ‘Contract?’ Lili spoke up eventually. Her voice was a mouse whisper. ‘I don't…I don't remember signing a contract.’

‘I do.’ Cole growled. ‘Against my will.’ he added. He leaned into Lili protectively. ‘Seems we don't remember much of anything that happened here, Lil.’

‘Correct, Young man.’ The Doctor smiled widely. ‘As you've grown up, we've effectively wiped your memories of certain things that would be a liability. Your entire lives from the age of five have been completely fabricated to fit the experiment. We aimed to create the first ever TV show with real characters.’

‘So, what, you think you can just turn us into the Archie gang?’ Cole laughed harshly. ‘Aren't there like a million fucking laws against that?’ He demanded. ‘Illegal surgery, kidnap, pretty much everything you’ve done?!”

The doctor nodded. ‘That's right, Cole.’ His eyes sparkled with menace. ‘But I'm afraid the law doesn't appeal to you four any-more.’

This time it was Veronica that spoke. ‘Meaning what?’ She said softly. Her eyes were on KJ, and he ducked his head, avoiding her. He knew she was looking for someone else. She was looking for Archie Andrews.

Who was nothing more than a strip of metal that had been lodged into his eye.

‘Ah, this is where it gets most interesting.’ The doctor said gleefully. ‘I'm going to get to the point here, kids. Since we’re so far behind schedule. I mean sure I'd love to spend hours chatting about you guys and the experiment, but we really do need to start filming-’

‘Talk.’ Lili whispered. She had her fists clenched tightly. Mathias nodded. ‘I hate to say it, guys,’ he spread out his arms as if yelling out surprise! ‘But you four are actually dead.’

‘What?!’ KJ spluttered. The doctor laughed. ‘Maybe I should have worded that better,’ He smirked when the three of them bunched together, shoulder to shoulder. Even Veronica looked like she wanted to join them. ‘I mean, my dear children. That the four of you died on the seventh of July, two-thousand-and-nine. When you were just six years old.’

Cole stared at him. ‘We died.’ He said softly, and then a little more hysterically. ‘What the hell are you talking about we died?’ He seethed. ‘How can we possibly be dead?’

The doctor grinned. ‘It was when we started the experiment. We managed to select a specific amount of children with your disorder. Then we narrowed them down to you four. Your parents had repeatedly been taking you to every specialist they could find.’ He smirked at the three of them, when they collectively flinched. ‘Our aim was to create television of the future. We wanted to make characters so life-like that the audience would automatically feel for them. I mean who needs actors when you have the character downloaded into a person’s head?’

None of them replied, so he continued. ‘Anyway. We figured that the best way to get around the legal aspects and loopholes was to use you guys.’ He gestured to them. ‘Four sick little kids with pretty much no future. We took you from your parents for regular check-up’s as we began to administer the treatment. And on July 5th, two-thousand-and-nine, we killed the four of you.’ The doctor giggled a little at their expressions. ‘Of course I don't mean we really killed you. Think of it as you were reborn. Your old selves were dead and buried and you became Telenet’s most prize Asset’s.’

‘Guinea pigs.’ Cole corrected. Mathias ignored him.

‘It was a simple task. All we did was inject you with a solution that would render you dead for a certain amount of time. Ah, of course your parents were upset. They thought the HN9 killed you,’ He shook his head and placed his hand over his heart. ‘I went to the funeral. Actually! You four were in the newspaper! There was a big story on the disease, and how it unfortunately sadly killed four kids.’

Mathias saw the look in KJ’s eye, and the doctor chuckled. ‘Ah, here comes the hardest part.’ He murmured. ‘Don't you see? You four have been part of our company for fifteen years. Everything you've ever done has been documented. Your first day at Kindergarten, your first job-’ He winked at Cole. ‘Or maybe it was a ballet recital?’ Lili had gone white.

‘But…’ KJ was struggling to speak. ‘I have an aunt. Aunt Jane. She-’

Were you not watching the footage?’ Doctor Mathias chuckled when KJ clenched his jaw.

‘Your so-called “aunt Jane” is Doctor Jane Thanatos.’ Mathias smiled, his gaze flicking to Cole and Lili. ‘Doctor Sprouse and Reinhart are all in our department. They were assigned to be your legal guardians until the time was right to move onto phase one.’

‘Wait, my...my mom? ’Cole said, or rather choked. ‘Did you just say Doctor ?’ He hissed, but he was clearly upset. ‘My mom's a barmaid.’ He said softly, and then he repeated it, grinding his teeth. ‘My mom…’ He trailed off.

The doctor shot Cole a sympathetic smile. ‘Is that the same mother who insisted you take acting jobs your whole childhood?’ He asked, with a knowing grin. ‘The one who found the Car Insurance company wanting employee’s?’

Cole didn't move. ‘Young man, we owned Wayne’s motors.’ He said. ‘After all, we had to elevate your confidence reading from scripts.’

Cole gave no reaction that he had even heard the doctor’s words. KJ jumped in, his voice trembling. ‘Everything was fake?’ He practically squeaked. ‘Aunt Jane...she was just...she was-’ KJ started to sob, his chest constructing with every violent heave.

‘How could you forget your own mother, KJ?’ Dr. Mathias smirked. ‘Unless of course we manipulated your memory into thinking that Jane was your carer? That you lost your mum when you were young?’

The doctor stumbled back a little, when KJ lunged at him. Cole and Lili held him back.

KJ let out a breath, which stuck in his throat. Lili grabbed his hand and squeezed it. ‘Fake?’ She whimpered. ‘Everything?!’

Mathias nodded. ‘I'm afraid so. We had to place you each in a family home that mimicked your old ones. Your real parents are…’ the doctor shrugged. ‘Actually, I don't know.’ His lip curled into a smirk. ‘They lost their kids fifteen years ago.’ He said, teasing a smile. ‘To an awfully terrible disease that consumed them.’

The three of them stood, in a kind of catatonic trance. KJ sobbing, Cole glaring hard at the ground and blinking rapidly, and Lili staring forwards at nothing in particular. Veronica found her own eyes tearing up. She quickly ducked her head to hide her sniffles.

‘My name.’ Lili said softly. Her gaze was blank as she stared into the distance. Tears were welling in her eyes. ‘Did I have a different name?’

Mathias only winked. ‘Now you're getting it.’

The man’s gaze strayed on Cole, who was quiet. ‘What?’ He laughed. ‘Nothing snarky to add? How about you, Jughead? What do you think?’

Cole didn't reply. He seemed to be in a mind of his own, as he stared forward, his mind processing the doctor’s words.

‘You can't justify this.’ KJ said softly, his tone was broken. ‘What you're doing is sick!’ He exploded. ‘You're trying to say you took us from our parents, ripped away our identities and turned us into, what? Mindless drones that’ll happily let you drill into our heads?!’

‘It's all for the greater good.’ The doctor said sternly. ‘I could have left you. I could have left all of you to be completely consumed by your own minds.’ Mathias saw Cole’s expression, and his eyes lit up. ‘That's right.’ He said softly, and calmly. But his eyes were shadowed. ‘We saved your lives.’ He growled. ‘And this is how you repay us?’

‘But-’ Veronica tried to get a word in, but Mathias cut her off. ‘I don't think you seem to understand.’ He said. ‘The second your parents handed over custody-’ He giggled a little manically. ‘Without knowing, of course-’ KJ started to lunge forward again, but Cole yanked him back. The doctor didn't seem to care. ‘You became our property.’ He sneered. ‘We own you. All it took were four signatures of consent when you were of age. And then,’ he shook his head, chuckling. ‘You know the rest.’

When the three of them only frowned at him, the doctor sniggered. ‘Why on earth do you think you've been acting your entire lives?’ He asked. ‘Cole, the job? The endless auditions, Lili? KJ?’ He spread out his arms. ‘It was all leading to this!’

‘You sick bastard.’ Cole finally managed to spit out, his voice cracked. Except the doctor didn't seem fazed.

Mathias leaned forward, hands clasped behind his back. ‘Do you know the life expectancy for someone with HN9 way back in 2008?’ He barked.

None of them replied. Instead they looked at him, a cocktail of confusion, horror and terror on their faces. Mathias rolled his eyes. ‘Fine, I'll tell you.’ His lip curled. ‘Fifteen years.’ He said. ‘You guys can do maths, right?’ He chuckled. ‘It's basic mental arithmetic. How old are you kids again?’

This time it wasn't a rhetorical question. The doctor’s expression darkened, a twisted smile on his face. ‘Tell me.’ Mathias growled. He spat every syllable. ‘How. Old. Are. You?’

“Twenty.’ KJ said between gritted teeth.

Mathias nodded, satisfied. ‘And take a wild guess how exactly you're standing there,’ he said. ‘Especially you, Mr Apa.’

KJ didn't speak. He didn't he think could. He itched to cling onto Cole and Lili, who seemed to be petrified into place. Doctor Mathias was clearly loving their discomfort.

‘The four of you are standing here today, because of the chip’s in your heads.’ He smirked at the redhead. ‘Unless of course, you ripped them out.’ Mathias clicked his tongue, and KJ had to look away. ‘Now that might be a problem.’ The doctor’s gaze was suddenly pinpointed on the boy. ‘Do tell me when your head starts to ache, young man.’

‘Ache?’ KJ repeated, his voice breaking.

Mathias chuckled. ‘Two of my subject’s are already majorly deteriorating, and we’re barely halfway through season one.’

‘Subjects.’ Cole found his voice. He no longer looked upset. Instead, he was seething. ‘We’re just subjects to you, huh? You sick fuck.’

Though Mathias only smiled teasingly at the boy. ‘It’s really hard to tell which one you are, young man. Are you Jughead or Cole?’ He murmured, his steely blue eyes boring into the boy’s. Cole only gritted his teeth. ‘Don’t worry, son. we set the chip’s to automatically revert to default when there’s a problem. Jughead pushing back into control is completely normal. Just naturally let go.’

The boy scoffed. But he looked hurt. ‘Never in a million years, Doctor whatever-the-fuck-your-name-is.’

‘Treat your elders with respect, Cole.’ The man grumbled. ‘It’s Dr. Charlie Mathias.’

Cole shook his head defiantly. His eyes blazing. ‘Not if my so called “elders” have ruined my life and turned me into a walking science experiment.’ He spat back.

Mathias’ eyes narrowed. ‘Then I'm afraid we’ll be forced to use Phase 3.’

‘And if I scoop him out of my eye myself?’ Cole challenged. ‘What are you going to do then?’

‘Cole.’ KJ’s warning tone sounded broken. ‘Leave it.’

The doctor smirked, ignoring KJ’s comment. ‘Then we’ll re-implant him, Cole,’ Mathias murmured, not losing his patronising smile. ‘And this time you will be completely self aware.’

KJ shivered at the doctor’s comment, his gaze flickering to Veronica. She was their one hope of escape, and there she was, siding with Doctor Psycho. She refused to look at him.

Cole seemed to lose a bit of his bite then, and stepped down, biting down hard on his lip. ‘If you think I'm going to be your guinea pig for Jughead Jones, you’re wrong.’ He said, choking a little. He looked desperate to escape, but they were completely surrounded. Cole only rocked back on his heel, and let out a frustrated hiss, followed by a hysterical laugh. ‘You have fifty odd soldiers surrounding five kids?’ His lips curled into a Jughead smirk, and KJ looked away. ‘What the hell are we going to do?

Mathias shrugged. ‘You kids have been implanted with state of the art AI technology.’ He explained. ‘If anything was to go wrong, like for example, the programme’s getting minds of their own, we have trained soldiers to shoot on sight.’ Mathias must have noticed Veronica wince.

‘Not you, Veronica. I mean if you, Jughead, Archie and Betty decided to- I don’t know, go on a killing spree-’

‘Understood.’ Veronica whispered.

Cole snorted, throwing up his hands. ‘You’re one sick bastard.’

Mathias smiled brightly. ‘As I've been told many times in the past by you.’ He chuckled. Then he clapped his hands together, making KJ and Lili jump. ‘Let’s get down to business shall we?’

Mathias then turned to Veronica, who was staring at the floor. ‘Veronica, sweetheart. I believe you have something of mine?’ He held out a demanding hand.

Veronica lifted her gaze, her expression crumpling with confusion. ‘What?’ she whispered. Mathias rolled his eyes. ‘The V Chip, Miss Lodge. You have it. Am I correct?’

‘Right.’ The girl said softly. She didn't lift her head, instead opting to reach into her jacket and pull out the chip before handing it to the doctor, who took it, chuckling softly. Cole hissed out a breath, his gaze on the tiny metal slide when Doctor Mathias held it up. KJ tried to take a step back, but the soldiers behind him shoved him forwards. ‘This my dear boy,’ Mathias practically shoved the chip in KJ’s face. The boy let out a sharp cry, and scrunched his eyes shut, shaking his head. But Mathias continued; ‘Is Archie Andrews.’

KJ continued to shake his head, tears dribbling down his cheeks. ‘No.’ he said softly. ‘No, I'm not- I'm not him.’ But even KJ was starting to sound doubtful. Eventually, his eyes flickered open, and he was staring at the piece of metal that had been wedged inside his eye. The thing that had saved his life.

The thing that had ruined his life. Mathias held it closer. ‘Come on, son.’ He murmured. ‘Who exactly are you without him, anyway?’ His eyes darkened. ‘You're nothing.’ The doctor prodded. ‘Just a broken little kid with no future prospects, no aspirations, parents or family and-’ He let out a mocking sigh, reaching out and stroking the boy’s right temple. ‘And unfortunately, young man. You have no mind.’

‘Wrong.’ KJ spat out, between sobs. He was crying, shaking, trembling. He couldn't stop. No matter how hard he tried. ‘You're wrong.’

Mathias cocked his head, a smirk flickering on his lips. ‘Young man, there’s no need to cry.’ he murmured. ‘It doesn't hurt, KJ. It's like going to sleep.’ He fiddled with the V chip, slipping it around between his thumb and finger. The steel was still stained a revealing red, and KJ shook his head, biting back a cry.

Mathias shook his head with a smile. ‘You don’t have a choice, Mr Andrews.’ he said, and his eyes lit up with satisfaction when KJ flinched. ‘Right, I want A.A and B.C taken to the scrap.’ Mathias smiled at Cole. ‘Just take J.J back to the theatre and reprogramme him.’

‘Scrap?! Lili squeaked. ‘What’s- what’s that?’ She struggled when she was grabbed roughly by one of the soldiers. ‘Get your hands off me!’ she shrieked. Lili twisted her head to stare at Veronica, her eyes wide and frightened. ‘Don’t- don’t let them do this to me!’ she sobbed. Cole jumped into action, attempting to grab for Lili, but he too was captured, his hands pinned roughly behind his back.

KJ didn't have time to make a break for it, a soldier already had a tight stranglehold around his chest. The boy glared at Mathias. ‘You can’t do this.’ He said, his voice breaking. His gaze flitted to Veronica for a second, who stared hard at the ground, avoiding his look of desperation.

‘Thalia.’ Dr. Mathias murmured, his lip curling. ‘That was your mother’s name.’

KJ was yanked away, carted off with the others. ‘What?!’ He cried out, digging his heels into the floor. But the soldier only dragged him roughly, like a rag doll. The doctor only chuckled. ‘That’s all you’re getting, young man!’ He yelled down the corridor. KJ let out a frustrated cry, before the door slammed shut behind him. ‘You bastard!’ Cole’s yells, in sync with Lili’s sobs, could still be heard rattling down the hall.

When they were gone, Dr. Mathias turned to Veronica, who was trying hard to keep it together. She lifted her head, tears dribbling down her cheeks, and the doctor tutted softly. ‘Miss Lodge, I apologise for what must be a traumatic experience for you.’ He murmured. Veronica shook her head, and swiped at her eyes. ‘I want to forget.’ She said, her tone was steely. ‘I just want things how they were.’

‘And they will be, Veronica.’ The doctor smiled. ‘Don’t worry, you’ll get your friends back soon.’

Veronica couldn't help it. She was so sure she wanted Archie back. Jughead and Betty. But seeing who they really were. Hearing their tragic back story- that they were just sick kids forced to be Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones- it put a weird taste in her mouth.

Veronica shivered. ‘What’s going to happen to-’ It took everything in her not to say KJ. At the start, when this whole ordeal started, she couldn't stand the boy’s accent. He wasn't Archie. And she hated it. She wanted to claw inside him with her bare hands and rip out the boy she loved. But now? Veronica only saw the boy as KJ. There was no Archie. There never had been an Archie. It was just some sick Kiwi kid.

‘Archie.’ She said stiffly. ‘What’s going to happen to Archie?’

Dr. Mathias chuckled. ‘He’s a lost cause, Veronica. I think the only way to go forward now, is with Phase 3. With the blonde too. They’re far too unstable for the project.’

Unstable.

Veronica felt sick. Phase 3? ‘And...and Jughead?’ She whispered. The doctor smiled. ‘I'm not going to lie Miss Lodge. I think wiping Cole’s consciousness would be a shame. We’re keeping him, for now.’ He sent her a bright smile, and she had to fight back a grimace. ‘He’ll be back to Jughead in no time.’

Veronica could only nod silently. ‘As for you, Miss Lodge.’ The doctor’s eyes sparkled. ‘I understand that you want to forget, and that can be dealt with. But you’re due for a scene with Mr Andrews in an hour. How would you like to see Archie again? And then, I promise, we’ll re-programme you.’

Why wasn't Camila coming back? Veronica couldn't help thinking, desperately. But she only forced a smile. She was going to see Archie. It was all going to be fine. No it’s not. She thought. No, it’s really, really not.

‘Okay.’ She said softly.

‘Brilliant!’ The man grinned. He grabbed her arm, and she didn't bother yanking away. She was nothing but a computer program in a girl’s mind. She didn't deserve to be treat like a human. Veronica hid her face with her hair, so the doctor wouldn't see tears welling in her eyes. ‘If you could just follow me…’

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be updating i think 2 chapters a day :D 
> 
> feel free to let me know what you think, and leave kudos if you liked! <3


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